lErY 







Book Jd/^t- 

GopightN 



CORHttGlW DEPOSIT. 



1 



m SATURDAY NIGHT 
THOUGHTS 

A Series of Dissertations on Spiritual, Historical 
and Philosophic Themes 




BY ORSON F. WHITNEY 

Of the Council of the Twelve, Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-day Saints 



SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: 

THE DESERET NEWS 

1921 






Copyright, 1921 
HEBER T. GRANT 
Trustee-in-Trust. 



OCT - 6 192! 






©CI.A627359 

>W0 I 



FOREWORD 

Most of the contents of this volume appeared orig- 
inally as a series of articles in Saturday issues of the 
Deseret Evening News, beginning October 26, 1918, and 
ending May 31, 1919. As stated by the News, these arti- 
cles "were designed to fill in some degree a spiritual 
void and meet a special need of those who were in the 
habit of attending Sunday services, but were denied that 
privilege by the prevalence of the influenza epidemic." 
That epidemic caused a suspension of public gatherings 
for several months, and g even made necessary the post- 
ponement of one General Conference of the Church. 

It was during this period of suspension that these 
contributions to the Church organ began. They were 
given place on the editorial page, and subsequently the 
News said of them: "These 'Thoughts' have subserved 
a far more than temporary and passing purpose — they 
have stimulated study and deep reflection, and they have 
been greatly enjoyed and prized by the thoughtful reader 
everywhere." 

Among those who uttered similar sentiments was 
President George H. Brimhall, of the Brigham Young 
University, who, in a letter to the author, expressed 
the hope that provision would be made for publication 



4 FOREWORD 

of the essays in book form, "thus adding one more choice 
volume to Latter-day Saint literature, especially suited 
to the needs of students at hom*e ajtid missionaries 
abroad." Like expressions came from President Heber 
J. Grant, Senator Reed Smoot, President John A. 
Widtsoe, of the University of Utah, and many other 
prominent people. 

In response to this cordial, widespread sentiment of 
appreciation, and under the sanction of the General 
Authorities of the Church, the "Saturday Night 
Thoughts" were compiled for republication, and the re- 
sult is here presented. 
May, 1921 THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 

Part One — Our Place In History 

Page 

Article One: The Saturday Evening of Time 9 

Article Two: The Watch On The Tower 14 

Article Three: Concerning Names and Vocations 19 

Article Four: The Choice Seer 24 

Article Five : The Land of Zion ' 31 

Part Two — Seership and Prophecy 

Article Six: What Joseph Beheld 39 

Article Seven: What Joseph Foretold 48 

Article Eight: Looking Westward 55 

Article Nine: The Place of Safety 61 

* 

Part Three. — A Marvel and a Wonder 

Article Ten: The Wisdom That Perishes 73 

Article Eleven: The God Story 80 

Article Twelve: The Great Vicissitudes . ., 87 

Article Thirteen: The Gospel Dispensations 96 

Part Four. — A Glance Down the Ages 

Article Fourteen: The Adamic Age 105 

Article Fifteen: Enoch and His City 112 

Article Sixteen : Noah and the Deluge 118 

Article Seventeen: Abraham and the House of Israel 124 

Article Eighteen: Moses and Aaron 132 

Article Nineteen: To the Ends of the Earth 138 

Part Five. — In Time's Meridian 

Article Twenty: The Lamb of God 149 

Article Twenty-one: The Special Witnesses 157 

Part Six. — The Era of Restitution 

x Article Twenty-two: The Call of the Shepherd 167 

Article Twenty-three: The Zion of Latter Days \77 



< 



6 CONTENTS. 

Page 

Article Twenty-four: Redemption by Power 185 

Article Twenty-five : Clearing the Way 191 

Article Twenty-six: God's Hand Upon the Nations 198 

Article Twenty-seven: The Consummation 205 

Part Seven. — Powers and Principles 

Article Twenty-eight: The Priesthood 215 

Article Twenty-nine: Church Government 222 

SArticle Thirty: The Law of Obedience 230 

Article Thirty-one: The Divine Doorway 236 

Article Thirty-two : The Second Birth . 243 

Article Thirty-three: Meaning and Mode of Baptism 251 

x Article Thirty-four: The Gospel's Accessories 261 

* Article Thirty-five: What Are Miracles? 271 

i\rticle Thirty-six: The Mainspring of Power 278 

Part, Eight. — Beyond the Horizon 

Article Thirty-seven: The Spirit World 287 

Article Thirty-eight: Spirit Promptings 294 

Article Thirty-nine: Do the Dead Return? 304 

Article Forty: The Goal Eternal 314 



NAMES AND ABBREVIATIONS 

The usual Bible abbreviations are retained. 

Hist. Ch. stands for History of the Church. 

D. & C. for Doctrine and Covenants. 

Nephi, Jacob, Omni, Miormon, Mosiah, Alma and Ether, will 
be recognized as names belonging to the Book of Mormon. 

The Book of M,oses, shortened to Moses, and the Book of 
Abraham, abbreviated to Abr., will be found within the lids of 
the Pearl of Great Price. 

Other abbreviations, such as vol. for volume, p. ,or pp. for 
page or pages, v. ,or vv. for verse or verses and ib. for ibid (the 
same) are in such common use as scarcely to require mention. 



PART ONE 



OUR PLACE IN HISTORY 



Saturday Night Thoughts 



ARTICLE ONE. 

The Saturday Evening of Time. 

The Sixth Day.- — Saturday, in Christian lands, is a 
day set apart for house-cleaning, a time for "putting things 
to rights," in preparation for the Sabbath, the sacred day of 
rest. Preliminary to the condition of purity, order and 
quietness especially desirable on that day, the house, in 
domestic parlance, is "upset" — ''turned topsy-turvy." Furn- 
iture is moved and dusted, floors are scrubbed, windows 
cleaned, and stoves polished ; the body is bathed, all rub- 
bish burned, and everything done that ought to be done, so 
that* when night is past and glorious morning dawns, the 
rising sun can smile approvingly on a renovated, sweet and 
wholesome scene, and the Lord's Day be kept, as He in- 
tended it should be, in cleanliness, which is "next to god- 
liness." Is there not something symbolical in all this — some- 
thing suggestive of things higher? 

All Things Symbolical. — "All things are in a scale," 
says Plato ; and begin where we will, ascend and ascend. All 
things are symbolical; and what we call results are begin- 
nings." If this be true, then is there a symbolism in small 
things as well as 1 in great, in endings as well as beginnings, 
including the ending and beginning of the week. Satur- 
day and Sunday are both symbolical, each suggesting and 
pointing to something above and beyoitd. 



a, "Plato," Emerson's "Representative Men," Altemus edition, 
1895, p. 71. 



10 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

The World's Sabbath. — Who among men first recog- 
nized in the seventh day a symbol of Christ's Millennial 
reign, I know- not. The reign itself was the theme of a 
revelation as early as the days of Enoch. 6 But it is obvious 
that the symbolism of the seventh day does not stand alone. 
The idea of a greater Sunday carries with it the idea of 
a greater Saturday, of which all lesser Saturdays are typi- 
cal ; a time of agitation, of strenuous toil and strife, dur- 
ing which all will be made ready for the blest sabbatic 
era, the period of universal peace. The World's Saturday 
Night must necessarily precede the World's Sunday Morn- 
ing/ 

The Apocalyptic Book. — The symbolism of the Sab- 
bath, and the symbolism of other days as well, is plainly in- 
dicated in the writings of Joseph Smith. In one place he 
says — or the Lord says through him : "All things have 
their likeness, and are made to bear record of Me." d We 
need not be surprised, therefore, to find among the Proph- 
et's teachings this — I quote now from his Key to the 
Apocalypse: 

"What are we to understand by the book which John 
saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?* 

"We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, 
mysteries, and works of God ; the hidden things of his econ- 
omy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years 
of its continuance, or its temporal existence. 



b, Moses 7:48, 61, 64. 

c, "Rabbinical commentators have expressed the opinion that 
after six millenniums of years, there will come a seventh, with rest 
and peace. Paul (2 Thess. 1 :7) points to the coming of Christ as 
the time when the Saints would find 'rest ;' and he also argues 
(Heb. 4:1-11) that there remaineth a 'rest' to the people of God. 
The word he uses means a 'sabbathism' or sabbath observance, and 
he refers to the coming of the Lord." — J. M. Sjodahl. 

d, Moses 6 :63. 

e, Rev. 5 and 6, 



THE SATURDAY EVENING OF TIME. 11 

"What are we to understand by the sounding of the 
trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelations? 

"We are to understand that as God made the world in 
six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work and 
sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the 
earth ; even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand 
years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete 
the salvation of man, and judge all things — unto the end 
of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven 
angels are the preparing and finishing of his work in the 
beginning of the seventh thousand years — the preparing of 
the way before the time of his coming."^ 

Seven Great Days. — The "days" here referred to were 
not ordinary days of twenty-four hours each, based upon 
earth's diurnal revolutions. He who "made the world" be- 
fore placing man upon it, had not then appointed unto Adam 
his reckoning/ They were not man's days, but God's days, 
each having a duration of a thousand years. 

"The book which John saw" represented the real his- 
tory of the world — what the eye of God has seen, what the 
recording angel has written ; and the seven thousand years, 
corresponding to the seven seals of the Apocalyptic volume, 
are as seven great days during which Mother Earth will ful- 
fill her mortal mission, laboring six days and resting upon 
the seventh, her period of sanctification. These seven days 
do not include the period of our planet's creation and prep- 
aration as a dwelling place for man. They are limited to 
Earth's "temporal existence," that is, to Time, considered as 
distinct from Eternity. 

According to Kolob. — The Prophet's translation of the 
Book of Abraham explains that these greater days are 



f, D. and C. 77 :6, 12. 

g, Abr. 5:13, 



12 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

"after the time" or according to the reckoning of Kolob, a 
mighty governing planet nearest the Celestial Throne, a 
planet revolving once in a thousand years/ 1 This period, 
then, is a day upon Kolob. One might well suppose such a 
day to have figured in the warning given to Adam: "In 
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" ;* for 
Adam, after eating of the forbidden fruit, lived on to the 
age of nine hundred and thirty years/ St. Peter may have 
had the same thing in mind when he wrote : "One day is 
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as 
one day".k 

At the Week's End. — According to received chron- 
ology — admittedly imperfect, yet approximately correct — 
four thousand years, or four of the seven great days given 
to this planet as the period of its "temporal existence," had 
passed before Christ was crucified; while nearly two thous- 
and years have gone by since. Consequently, Earth's long 
week is now drawing to a close, and we stand at the pres- 
ent moment in the Saturday Evening of Time, at or near 
the end of the sixth day of human history. Is it not a time 
for thought, a season for solemn meditation ? Morning will 
break upon the Millennium, the thousand years of peace, 
the Sabbath of the World ! 

House-Cleaning in Progress. — Marvel not, therefore, 
that all things are in commotion. War, famine, pestilence, 
earthquake, tempest and tidal wave — these are among the 
predicted signs of the Savior's second coming/ Tyranny 



h, Abr. 3 :4. 

i, Gen. 2:17. 

/, lb. 5 :5. This, of course, refers to the temporal life. Adam 
died spiritually as soon as he had transgressed the divine command. 
Shut out from the Heavenly Presence, he was dead as to the 
things of the Spirit. (D. and C 29:40, 41.) 

k, 2 Peter 3 :8. 

/. Matt. 24; D. and C 87, 88. 



THE SATURDAY EVENING OF TIME. 13 

and wickedness must be overthrown, and the way prepared 
for Him who, though gracious and merciful to all, and for- 
giving to sinners who repent, "cannot look upon sin with 
the least degree of allowance. " w Earth must be freed from 
oppression and cleansed from all iniquity. It is God's 
House ; and He is coming to live in it, and to make of it a 
glorified mansion. House-cleaning is in progress, and Sat- 
urday's work must be done and out of the way, before 'the 
Lord of the Sabbath appears. 



m, D. and C. 1 :31, 32. 



ARTICLE TWO. 

The Watch on the Tower. 

"Haunted Houses." — Several years since, a learned 
gentleman was lecturing in some of our Utah towns, taking 
tor his theme "Haunted Houses." That was his way of 
describing the situation of those who put faith in prophets, 
visions and revelations, as among the means whereby God 
communicates wich man. He invited all such to come out of 
their "haunted houses," and build for their souls "more 
stately mansions," founded upon the rock of reason and 
scientific truth. The lecturer had special reference, of 
course, to the followers of the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

A Fundamental Belief. — A belief in prophets and in 
spiritual gifts, whereby come visions, revelations, and mir- 
aculous "signs," following and confirming full and true be- 
lief," is fundamental with the Latter-day Saints. We re- 
gard the founding of our Church as a fulfillment of proph- 
ecy,* and recognize in the decadence of long established 
systems of religion, a result of failure to be guided and gov- 
erned by the teachings and warnings of men divinely in- 
spired. "Where there is no vision, the people peri-sh." c 
Where there is no revelation, spiritual darkness reigns. 

Not a Chance Worlds — We are not living in a world 
of chance. Things do not occur haphazardly, without the 
care or cognizance of the omniscient and omnipotent Ruler. 
Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. De- 
sign, not accident, governs the universe. Neither man nor 
Satan, though exercising to the full his free agency, can 



a, Mark 16:17. 

b, Isa. 29:14. 

c, Prov. 29:18. 



THE WATCH ON THE TOWER. 15 

possibly thwart the Divine Will. With all their schemings 
and strivings, they are powerless to destroy or disarrange 
God's Plan, or to hinder the fulfillment of prophecy. All 
things, both the evil and the good, are overrued in a way 
to subserve one and the same great end — What Eternal 
Wisdom decreed before the foundation of the world. 

The Function o£ Prophecy. — The need for prophecy 
must be evident to any pious and reflective mind. Prophets 
are as watchmen on the tower, noting the time of night, 
telling of the approaching dawn. "Surely the Lord God will 
do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants 
the prophets. ' ,d This means, as I interpret it, that the all- 
wise Dispenser of human affairs will neither cause nor per- 
mit any event to take place, concerning which the world 
need to have fore-knowledge, until he has communicated 
with his chosen servants, his oracles among men, and has 
given them due notice of its approach. 

To warn mankind of impending judgments ;to prepare 
His people, and through them the world at large, for 
changes that must come in the carrying out of the divine 
program — changes necessary to human progress — is the 
function of those who see into the future and make known 
the word and will of the Universal Father. 

Time for Preparation.— Even without the Prophet 
Amos and his inspired utterance, we have every reason to 
ieel assured, from what we know of the divine attributes, 
that God, in his dealings with man, harbors no intent to 
take what is known as "s. snap judgment." His object be- 
ing to save, not to destroy, it is very far from his design 
that the world shall be caught unawares, that men or nations 
shall be involved in trouble of which they have had no 
warning, and for which, consequently, they could make no 

d, Amos 3 :7. 



16 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

preparation. The promised sending of Elijah the Prophet 
"before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the 
Lord," was in order that certain things might be done which, 
if left undone, would cause that "coming" to "smite the 
earth with a curse."* 

Not that the Lord wishes to- curse. His object, even in 
chastisement, is to bless/ But a want of preparedness can 
change a blessing into a curse. Messiah's glorious appear- 
ing will be a wonderful blessing to the earth and its inhab- 
itants, provided they are made ready for it. But a lack 
of readiness on their part would convert the boon into a 
calamity. Hence the need of preparation and of previous 
notice. Whether weal or woe is wending its way earth- 
ward, it is only fair that men should be told of it in ad- 
vance. 

The Supernatural Discredited. — But there is a prone- 
ness in human nature to discredit the Heaven-sent messen- 
ger. Almost invariably the supernatural is discounted, if 
iiot derided, by ultra-practical minds. All miracles are 
myths to the agnostic intellect. "The natural man is an 
enemy to God." 

Dead Prophets Preferred. — Even those who revere 
the prophets of the past are tempted to ignore the proph- 
ets of the present. It seems natural to turn from What 
Is and bow down to What Has Been. Not only prophets, 
but poets, philosophers, and other wise and worthy teachers 
have been treated in this manner. 

"Seven cities claimed the birth of Homer, dead, 
Through which the living Homer begged for bread." 

The Savior reproved the pious unbelievers of his gen- 
eration for "garnishing the sepulchres of the righteous." 



e, Mai. 4:5, 6. 

f. Prov. 3:11, 12. 



THE WATCH ON THE TOWER. 175 

the dead seers and revelators, and at the same time reject- 
ing the living worthies, as their fathers had done before 
them. g A professed reverence for Moses and the old-time 
prophets was a prominent characteristic of those who 
spurned the greatest of all prophets, the very Son of God, 
concerning whom Moses and other seers had testified. And 
this same spirit, the spirit that crucified the Christ, has 
caused the martyrdom of His servants in all ages. 

Counterfeit and Genuine. — For the widely prevalent 
distrust felt toward men who come burdened with a mes- 
sage from on High, false prophets and the mischief they 
have wrought are largely responsible. But distrust, no less 
than credulity, can be overdone. Caution against imposi- 
tion is commendable, but doubt that rejects truth is to be 
deprecated and condemned. All prophets are not false. 
There can be no counterfeit without a genuine ; and to pro- 
claim against the one is virtually to concede the existence of 
the other. 

A Test of Prophecy. — A simple and sure test of 
prophecy is furnished in the following passage of Holy 
Writ : " When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, 
if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing 
which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath 
spoken it presumptuously."' 1 By this standard of judgment 
can be tested all that prophetic inspiration has ever ut- 
tered. Given enough time, "the thing" will clearly demon- 
strate whether or not it was "spoken presumptuously." 

A Serious Situation. — Ponder upon this, ye who hear 
the testimonies of the Elders of Israel, preaching the re- 
stored Gospel of the Kingdom as a final witness to the na- 
tions. And when you see coming- to pass, in these days of 



g, Matt. 23:29. 
h, Deut. 18:22. 



18 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

war, pestilence and calamity, the predictions of ancient and 
modern seers, give a thought, a serious thought to the situa- 
tion Ask yourselves if you can afford to he classed, either 
with those who look upon believers in spiritual gifts as de- 
luded dupes living in "haunted houses," or with those who 
extol the prophets of former ages, and persecute or ignore 
the prophets of the present time. 



ARTICLE THREE. 
Concerning Names and Vocations. 

Is Not This The Farmer's Son? — Some such para- 
phrase was probably in the mind, possibly upon the lips, 
of more than one opponent of the religion termed "Mor- 
monism," when its supposed author, Joseph Smith, started 
out upon his remarkable career. And it was deemed by 
them, no doubt, a sufficient answer to his extraordinary 
claims. 

True and False Standards. — "A tree is known by its 
fruit." This proverb, accepted by the wise and just almost 
as a truism, seems to have no place in the philosophy of 
some people, especially when a servant of the Lord is the 
object of their critical contemplation. "What do men say 
of him?" is frequently the only criterion by which such a 
character is judged. And is it not manifestly unfair? When 
a prophet comes from God with a message for mankind, 
what matters the name given to that message, or to that 
messenger, by those unfriendly to the cause he represents ? 

"The Carpenter's Son." — Those who rejected the 
Man of Nazareth when he proclaimed himself the Son of 
God, doubtless thought they had disposed of him effectual- 
ly by referring to him sneeringly as "The carpenter's son ;" 
this slight, with others put upon him by his neighbors, caus- 
ing Jesus to remark : "A prophet is not without honor save 
in his own country and in his own house. " a 

Effect of Nearness, — His nearness was against him. 
There was no "distance" to "lend enchantment to the 
view." His name and humble vocation made his marvelous 



a, Matt. 13:55-57. 



20 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

claims seem impossible. It could not be that God would 
make a prophet out of a carpenter's son — a prophet mightier 
than Moses or any of the ancient seers — and give to him 
such a common name as Jesus, another form of Joshua. b It 
was unbelievable, absurd, to most. Therefore were they 
justified, as they supposed, in withholding from him recog- 
nition and honor. "And He did not many mighty works 
there, because of their unbelief." 

History Repeats. — As with the carpenter's, so with 
the farmer's son — each was objected to upon similar 
grounds. Nor was it a new thing in human experience. 
That which called forth criticism had occurred many times 
in other ages when God had raised up prophets and seers. 
Probably most of them were selected from among the plain 
people, and were comparatively unknown to men when the 
Lord called them. 

Moses an Exception. — Moses was a signal exception. 
He had been reared as a prince in the palace of the king of 
Egypt ; but that was because Pharaoh's daughter, having 
found the homeless infant at the water's edge, thenceforth 
had charge of him and his education. Prince he was, re- 
gardless of that princely training; but he was not the only 
prince in Israel. They were "a nation of kings and priests," 
though most of them walked in ways that were lowly. 

A Herdsman Prophet. — Prophets are not chosen for 
their worldly culture or their social position. A plain-going 
farmer, no less than a college professor, may be gifted with 
prophetic power and be called to exercise it for the good of 
his fellows. Amos, according to his own statement, "was 
no prophet," nor "a prophet's son." That' is to say, he 



b, "Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Jos(hua," fre- 
quently met with in Ezra and Nehem'iah. It was pronounced 
"Joshua" by the early Jews. Other forms of the name are "Hosea" 
or "Hoshea," "Oshea" and "Jehoshua." 



CONCERNING NAMES AND VOCATIONS. 21 

had not been trained in any school of the prophets, such as 
existed in Old Testament times. c He was not, like Jere- 
miah, the son of a priest.^ He was a herdsman and a 
fruit-gatherer when the word of the Lord came to him: 
"Go, prophesy unto my people Israel"/ 

Prophets Foreordained. — A prophet's name, his place 
of birth, and the character of his everyday calling, are 
matters of little moment compared with other things per- 
taining to him. What of his state and standing before he 
came on earth? This is a far more important considera- 
tion. God's prophets are chosen before they are born/ and 
are sent into the world as He needs them. Their aims are 
high and holy. They desire the welfare and happiness of 
the race. Yet almost invariably their motives are misun- 
derstood, and they and their followers are opposed and 
persecuted. 

The Vital Question. — Does this man come from God? 
That is the only question worthy of immediate attention, 
when a prophet, or one professing to be such appears. And 
his word alone need not be taken as conclusive. There are 
ways and means of testing a prophet's claim — and that, too, 
without awaiting the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of some 
prediction by or concerning him. Honest, prayerful men 
and women, with even moderate discernment, need not be 
deceived by any pious or impious pretender. God would 
not leave his children at the mercy of imposters. The sheep 
have a right to be protected ftom the wolves. 

"Try the Spirits." — "Many false prophets are gone 
out into the world. "& But there is a Spirit that discerns 



c, 1 Sam. 10:10; 19:20. 2 Kings 2:3; 4:38; 6:1. 

d, Jer. 1:1. 

e, Amos 7:14, 15. 

/, Abr. 3:23; Jer. 1:5. 
g, 1 John 4:1 . 



22 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

between true and false, between spurious and genuine, and 
anyone who seeks it aright may have "the inspiration of the 
Almighty," which giveth to the spirit of man "understand- 
ing." 71 Moreover, the Letter as well as the Spirit is a 
guide. What has been revealed in times past helps to 
interpret what is now revealed. Truth is always consistent 
with itself. Heaven-inspired men do not contradict one 
another. Their teachings harmonize and are dependable. 
The spirit of contention is essentially evil. 1 "To the law 
and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this 
word, it is because there is no light in them."-' 

"Old Joe Smith." — Were these tests applied to Joseph 
Smith in the early part of the nineteenth century? Yes, by 
some ; and they received the promised testimony of the 
Truth, the absolute evidence of the divinity of this Proph- 
et's mission. But by far the greater number of those to 
whom he fain would have ministered, rejected him sum- 
marily and without investigation. To them he was only 
"Joe Smith" — "Old Joe Smith" — old indeed in wisdom, 
though young in earthly years, yielding up his life as a 
martyr at the early age of thirty-eight. His claim to being 
an oracle of God was deemed preposterous, blasphemous ; 
and his religion, the pure Gospel of Christ, was denounced 
as the world's worst delusion and snare. 

Badges of Honor. — But bad names, wrongly be- 
stowed, hurt the giver, rather than the receiver. Blame and 
ridicule, when applied to the righteous, are badges of honor, 
worn by true prophets and true principles in all ages. It 
does not do away with a man of God to pelt him with nick- 
names and opprobrious epithets. Persecution may end his 
earthly career, but it cannot confute his claim nor invalidate 



h, Job 32 :8. 

i,Z Nephi 11:29, 30. 

j, Isa. 8:20. • 



CONCERNING NAMES AND VOCATIONS. 23 

his testimony. The name of the martyred modern Seer, 
despite the clouds of calumny enveloping it, shines out from 
amidst the darkness that comprehended him not. His glori- 
ous Lord and Master, crucified as an imposter, put to death 
for maintaining that he was more than the world believed 
him to be, gave the only Name given under heaven whereby 
men ran be saved. 



ARTICLE FOUR. 

The Choice Seer. 

A Prenatal Naming. — Let us now take a closer view 
of this marvelous man, Joseph Smith, the most extraordin- 
ary character that has appeared upon our planet in the past 
two thousand years. His coming into the world fulfilled a 
prophecy uttered many centuries before his birth — a proph- 
ecy concerning "a choice seer," to be raised up "out of 
the loins" of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. The seer's 
name was likewise to be Joseph, and this also was to be 
the name of his fathers That prophecy was fulfilled in 
Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-day Saints. "Joseph the Seer" — so is he desig- 
nated by divine revelation. 6 

Like great Cyrus, who liberated the Jews from their 
captivity in Babylon/ the Lord's anointed in modern times, 
raised up to begin the work of Israel's final and complete 
redemption, was named and his mission outlined long be- 
fore he had tabernacled in the flesh. Why he came gifted 
with the power of seership, was made manifest at the very 
beginning of his career. 

Birth and Parentage. — Joseph the, Seer was born at 
Sharon, Vermont, two days before Christmas, in the year 
1805. When only a lad, living with his parents, Joseph and 
Lucy Smith, honest farm folk in the backwoods of Western 
New York, his career as a prophet began. 

In Quest of Wisdom. — Partly from the effects of a 



a, 2 Nephi 3:6-15. 

b, D. and C. 21 :1. See also headings to most of the sections in 
this book. 

c, Tsa. 44:28; 45:1-5. 



THE CHOICE SEER. 25 

religious revival held in his neighborhood, he became much 
concerned upon the subject of his soul's salvation, but was 
bewildered and unable to make choice of a church or creed, 
owing to the diverse and conflicting claims of the various 
Christian sects. While in this mood, he chanced upon the 
following passage of scripture : "If any of you lack wisdom, 
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and 
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." d Deeply im- 
pressed with the sacred words, he forthwith resolved to ask 
from God the wisdom of which he stood in need. 

The First Vision. — Retiring to a grove near his fath- 
er's home, he knelt in prayer to the Most High ; but had 
scarcely begun his humble and earnest petition, when he 
was seized upon by a power that filled his soul with horror 
and paralyzed his tongue so that he could no longer speak. 
So terrible was the visitation, that he almost gave way to 
despair. Yet he continued to pray — in thought, with "the 
soul's sincere desire'' — and just at the moment when he 
feared he must abandon himself to destruction, he saw, 
directly over his head, a light more brilliant than the noon- 
day sun. In the midst of a pillar of glory he beheld two 
beings in human form, one of whom, pointing to the other, 
said : "This is my beloved Son, hear Him"* 

All Churches Astray. — With the appearance of the 
Light, the boy found himself delivered from the fettering 
power of the Evil One. As soon as he could again com- 
mand utterance, he inquired of his heavenly visitants 
which of all the religious denominations was right — which 
one was the true Church of Christ? To his astonishment, 
he was told that none of them was right; that they had all 
gone out of the way. Their creeds were an abomination, 



d, James 1 :5. 

e, Hist. Ch., Vol. 1, Chap. 1, p. 5. 



26 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

and their professors corrupt. "They draw near to me with 
their lips, but their hearts are far from me ; they teach for 
doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of god- 
liness, but they deny the power thereof." So spake the 
Son of God concerning the churches/ He declared that he 
did not recognize any of them ; but was about to restore 
the Everlasting Gospel, with the powers of the Eternal 
Priesthood, and establish his Church once more in the midst 
of mankind. 

Such was Joseph Smith's first vision and revelation. 
It came in the spring of 1820, when he was but a few months 
over fourteen years of age. 

The Divine Personality. — The greater part of this 
wonderful manifestation was the part that did not speak — 
the silent revealing of the personality of God ; a truth 
plainly taught in the Scriptures, but ignored or denied by 
modern Christianity. The object worshiped by the sects 
was defined in their theology as a being "without body, 
parts or passions"/ That was the popular concept of Deity 
throughout Christendom when Joseph Smith and "Mormon- 
ism" came forth. In line with this tenet and teaching, an 
English poet of the eighteenth century had represented 
God as a "Mind" or "Soul" that 

Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, - 
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, 
Lives through all life, extends through all extent, 
Spreads undivided, operates unspent. 7 * 

These beautiful couplets admirably describe the Spirit 
oi the Lord — that all-pervading energy or essence which 
proceeds from the Divine Presence, fills the immensity of 



/, Compare Isa. 29:13. 

g, Church of England Articles of Religion, Presbyterian Con- 
fession of Faith, etc. 

h, Pope's "Essay on Man," Epistle 1, lines 271-274. 



THE CHOICE SEER. 27 

space, is everywhere present, and is immanent in all crea- 
tion. But they give no adequate idea, of the Great Creator, 
"the father of the spirits" of men/ who sent into the world 
his Beloved Son, "the brightness of his glory and the ex- 
press image of his person"/ that men might see in him the 
Father and worship God aright. The Son of God, walking 
as a man upon the earth, plainly indicated what kind of a 
being God is ; and when his disciple, Philip, said to him, 
"Lord, show us the Father," Jesus replied : "He that hath 
seen me hath seen the Father" * Could anything be 
plainer? 

But these teachings were lost upon the modern Christian 
world. They had turned from the truth "unto fables"/ 
• forsaking the God of their fathers, and substituting for him 
as an object of worship, an ideal of their own creation. And 
it devolved upon Joseph Smith to shatter the false doctrine 
of a bodiless, passionless deity, and bring back the lost 
knowledge of the true and living God. 

The True and Living God. — What is meant by that? 
Who is "the true and living God?" He is the God of the 
Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of 
Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of the patriarchs and prophets 
and apostles of old — the God described by Moses in the 
first chapter of Genesis, where it is written : "God created 
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, 
male and female, created he them." This is equivalent tc 
saying that God is in the form of man, and that we have 
a Mother as well as a Father in Heaven, in whose image 
or likeness we are, male and female. 

Of the divine Three who hold supreme power and 



i, Heb. 12 :9. 

/, lb. 1 :3; Gen. 1 :26, 27; Philipp. 2:6; Col. 1 :15, etc. 

k, John 14:9. 

/, 2 Tim. 4:4. 



28 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

preside over the universe — three distinct personalities, yet 
one God or Godhead, one in will, wisdom, power and 
authority — of these, the Father and the Son, according" to 
Joseph Smith, are personages of tabernacle. They have 
bodies "as tangible as man's"; while the Holy Ghost "is a 
personage of spirit"." 1 

The Idol of the Sects. — Proceeding forth from them, 
is that all-pervading essence or influence which is immanent 
ir all things — the light of the sun, moon and stars, the light 
also of the human understanding, quickening and illumin- 
ing, in greater or less degree, "every man that cometh into 
the world." In it we live, move and have our being; for it 
is the principle of life throughout creation. This is what 
the poet was describing, when he portrayed Deity as a"Soul" 
that "warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze," etc. And 
this is what the Christian sects were worshiping at the be- 
ginning of the nineteenth century. Not God, but a spirit 
sent forth from God ; not Divinity, but an emanation 
from Divinity. In a word, they were practicing idolatry — 
or something dangerously akin to it. 

What Constitutes Idolatry? — "Idolatry is every wor- 
ship that stops short of the Supreme"." It is "the paying 
of divine homage to false gods or images ; also, adoration 
of created or imaginary beings or natural objects or 
forces." This is precisely what the ancient world was 
doing when the book of Genesis was written. The Canaan- 
ites worshiped the sun and moon — Baal and Ashtoreth — 
ascribing to them the powers of creation. The Egyptians 
adored the crocodile, the bull, the goat and the beetle (scara- 
beus). Among the Hindus the seasons were deified — 
spring, summer, autumn, winter; as were also the pas- 



m, D. and C. 130:22. Compare 1 Nephi 11:11. 

n, F. H. Hedge, "Ways of the Spirit," Essay 8, p. 215. 

o, F. W. Standard Dictionary. 



THE CHOICE SEER. 29 

sions — love, hate, fear, anger and revenge. All these were 
revered as deities. Then came Moses, who had seen the 
living and true God, and had conversed with him face to 
face, receiving from him the Decalogue or Ten Command- 
ments unto Israel. The first commandment reads : "Thou 
shalt have no other gods before me." 

Modern Christendom's Position. — The world in Jo- 
seph Smith's day — the Christian world at least — did not 
worship the heavenly bodies ; did not deify beasts and rep- 
tiles, did not regard the seasons and passions as divine. Yet 
it had turned from the true God, ignoring or misinterpret- 
ing what Moses and the prophets had written concerning 
him. According to its dictum, the agq of miracles was past ; 
prophets were out of date, and angel messengers obsolete ; 
the heavens were sealed, the canon of scripture was full, 
and God would never again communicate with mortals. Then 
came the vision of the Father and the Son — two glorious 
beings in the form of man — and from the hour that the boy 
Joseph beheld them, there was at least one person upon ihis 
planet who knew what kind of a being God is. It was a 
virtual reassertion of the first commandment in the Dec- 
alogue : "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

To worship anything that God has made and given, in 
lieu of the Maker and Giver, is to worship an idol. They 
who turn from the Creator to the creature, who forsake God 
and adore a gift or an emanation from God, are idolaters, 
almost as much as if they worshiped the sun and moon, or 
bowed down to goats and crocodiles. 

Like to Elijah — To restore the acceptable worship of 
Jehovah, and begin a work that would sweep away? idolatry 
and all things connected therewith, was the mission of Jo- 
seph the Seer. Against him, as against Elijah of old, the 
priests of Baal raged in impotent fury. Despite their 



30 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

tongues of slander and their weapons of violence, he ac- 
complished all that had been given him to do. This time, 
however, the All-Wise permitted his servant to be sacrificed 
— to the end, no doubt, that his innocent blood, affixing to 
his testimony the red seal of martyrdom, might give added 
power to the great propaganda then and still in progress 
for Israel's redemption — the gathering of the scattered 
sheep preparatory to the Shepherd's coming. 



ARTICLE FIVE. 

The Land of Zion. 

The Angel Moroni. — Three years after that wonder- 
ful vision in the Grove, the youthful Seer received a visit- 
ation from an angel, a messenger from the presence of the 
Lord. This Angel gave his name as Moroni, and declared 
that while in mortal life he had ministered as a prophet to an 
ancient people called Nephites, a branch of the house of 
Israel — not the Lost Tribes, as is frequently asserted by the 
uninformed, but a portion of the tribe of Joseph, mixed with 
a remnant of the tribe of Judah. The former had crossed 
over from Jerusalem about the year 6C0 B. C. ; the others a 
few years later. These blended colonies had inhabited 
the Americas down to about the beginning of the fourth 
century of the Christian era, when the civilized though de- 
generate Nephites were destroyed by a savage faction 
known as Lamanites, ancestors of the American Indians. 

The Book of Mormon. — The Angel further stated 
that a record of the Nephites would be found in a hill not 
far from Joseph's home — a hill anciently called Cumorah ; 
and upon that spot, four years afterward, Moroni delivered 
the record into his hands. It was a book of metallic plates 
"having the appearance of gold," and covered with strange 
characters, "small and beautifully engraved" — characters 
known to the Nephites as "the reformed Egyptian". 

By means of "interpreters,' 2 discovered with the plates, 
and consisting of "two stones in silver bows," the youth 
translated the unsealed portion of the record and, with the 
assistance of a few friends, published to the world the Book 



a, Mormon 9 :32. 



32 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

of Mormon. It was so named for its compiler,' the Nephite 
prophet Mormon, whose son and survivor, Moroni, had 
buried the plates where Joseph Smith found them. The date 
of discovery was September 22nd, 1823. b 

The Hill Cumorah is situated between Palmyra and Man- 
chester, in the State of New York. For their belief in the 
Book of Mormon, the Latter-day Saints were termed "Mor- 
mons," and their religion "Mormonism." It proclaims itself 
the restored fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

History and Prophecy. — The Book of Mormon is a 
sacred history of pre-historic America, and a prophecy of 
the wondrous future of this chosen land. It tells not only of 
the Nephites and Lamanites, but also of a more ancient peo- 
ple, the Jaredites, who came from the Tower of Babel at 
the time of the confusion of tongues. Becoming extinct, 
the Jaredites were succeeded by the Israelitish colony, led 
from Jerusalem by a prophet named Lehi, whose sons Ne- 
phi and Laman became, respectively, the heads of the two 
nations that sprang from him and were called after their 
names. The Jewish remnant that mixt with the descend- 
ants of Lehi was headed by Mulek, one of the sons of King 
Zedekiah, whom the Babylonian conqueror, Nebuchadnez- 
zar, overthrew. 

The New Jerusalem w — The Jaredites, as well as the 
Nephites, had a knowledge of the Christ and of the prin- 
ciples of his Gospel, revealed to them prior to his coming. 
To both these nations it was made known that America is 
the Land of Zion, the place for the New Jerusalem, a holy 
city to be built "unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph. " r 
Likewise was it shown to them that the Old Jerusalem would 
be rebuilt "unto the house of Israel" in the last davs. All 



b, Hist. Church, Vol. 1, p. 15. 

c, 3 Nephi 21:23, 24; Ether 13:3-8. 



THE LAND OF ZION. 33 

this before the Savior's second advent — the glorious morn- 
break of the Millennium. 

A Nursing Mother. — Among the many interesting 
features of the Book of Mormon, is an ancient prophecy of 
the discovery of America by Columbus ; the migration of the 
Pilgrim Fathers and others to these western shores ; the 
war for American Independence, and the founding of the 
republic of the United States, a nation destined long before 
its birth to play the part of a nursing mother to the re- 
stored Church of Christ.^ 

And let me interject, that whatever may be said of 
the persecutions suffered by the Latter-day Saints under the 
Stars and Stripes in various States of the Union — persecu- 
tions inflicted, not because of the Flag, nor of the Consti- 
tution, nor of the genius of the American Government, but 
in spite of them — persecutions inflicted by lawless force, 
by mob violence, ever to be execrated and condemned by 
every true patriot — whatever may be said of such deplor- 
able happenings, still must our noble Nation be credited 
with what it has done in the direction of fulfilling its God- 
given mission. It is extremely doubtful that in any other 
land, or in any other nation upon this land, would the Lord's 
people have been treated with the same degree of considera- 
tion. In no other country on earth, without special divine 
interposition in its behalf, would this great and marvelous 
work have been permitted to come forth. 

A Land of Liberty. — America, according to Nephite 
prophecy, is to be a land of liberty to the Gentiles — mod- 
ern peoples, not of Israel, now possessing it — provided they 
serve the God of the Land, who is Jesus Christ. So long as 
they shall follow righteousness, and maintain the pure prin- 
ciples upon which this Government was founded, just so long 



d, 1 Nephi 13:10-19; 22:7, 8. 
3 



34 OUR PLACE IN HISTORY. 

will they prosper and enjoy the favor of Heaven. America, 
if true to her mission, is promised divine protection, and will 
be invulnerable to every foe. God "will fortify this land 
against all other nations," and they who "fight against Zion 
shall perish. " e 

The Alternative. — If, however, the Gentiles, lifted up 
ill pride, shall harden their hearts and reject the fulness of 
Christ's Gospel, Liberty's perfect law, another destiny, and 
a sad one, awaits them. No king but Christ shall reign upon 
Zion's Land. No people occupying this choice ground can 
practice evil with impunity. The nation founded here must 
be a righteous nation, or like the Jaredites and the Nephites, 
who perished because of their wickedness, it will be swept 
from the face of the land when the cup of its iniquity is 
full. So the God of Lleaven hath decreed/ 

Joseph's Blessing. — Another name for America, au- 
thorized by the Book of Mormon, is the Land of Joseph, re- 
ferred to by the Patriarch Jacob in blessing his twelve so as, 8 
and by the Prophet Moses in his farewell benediction upon 
the twelve tribes of Israel.'' Jacob's allusion to Joseph as 
"a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the 
wall," was fulfilled in the migration of Lehi and his com- 
panions from Asia to America over the Pacific Ocean. It 
is hardly necessary to add, in further exegetical comment, 
that one of the main features of these western continents 
are those mighty mountain ranges, the Andes and the 
Fockies, well termed by the Hebrew Patriarch "the ever- 
lasting hills," nature's depositories for "the precious things 
of the earth" — gold, silver, and other minerals — and for 
"the precious things of heaven" — the sacred records that 



c, 2 Nephi 10:11-13. 
f, Ether 2:8-12. 
e. Gen. 49:22-26. 
<''. Dent. 33:13-15. 



THE LAND OF ZION. 35 

have already been discovered, and others that are yet to 
come forth. 

Joseph and Judah. — The Book of Mormon has a di- 
vine mission in connection with the Hebrew Scriptures, 
"unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down 
of contentions". 2 ' It is "The Stick of Joseph," referred to 
by the Prophet Ezekiel, that was to be one with "The Stick 
of Judah" (The Bible) "in the hand of Ephraim," They 
were also to be one in the hand of Jehovah, symbolizing 
the reunion of the two ffreat branches of the Israelitish 
race, after many centuries of separation. "And I will make 
them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel," 
saith the Lord, "and David my servant shall be king over 
them."-?' 

Zidn and Jerusalem. — David's ancient empire, which 
parted in twain, forming the Kingdom of Judah and the 
Kingdom of Israel, may it not have been a foreshad- 
owing of God's greater empire of the last days, which will 
consist of two grand divisions — two in one? Here upon the 
Land of Zion, "a land choice above all other lands, " /? the 
children of Joseph, the descendants of Ephraim, are even 
now assembling to make preparation for Messiah's advent. 
The Jews will greet him at Jerusalem. Christ's Kingdom 
will have two capitals, one in the Old World, one in the 
New; one in America, the other in Palestine. "For out of 
Zion shall go 1 forth che law, and the word of the Lord from 
Jerusalem."' 



i, 2 Nephi 3:12. 

7, Ezek. 37:16-24. The king here mentioned is not David, son 
of Jesse, but "another by the name of David" who is to be "raised 
up out of his lineage."— Hist. Ch., Vol. 6, p. 253. 

k, Ether 2:10. 

/. Isa. 2:3. 



PART TWO 



SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 



ARTICLE SIX. 

What Joseph Beheld. 

Seer and Prophet. — "Seer" and "Prophet" are inter- 
changeable terms, supposed by many to signify one and the 
same thing. Strictly speaking, however, this is not correct. 
A seer is greater than a prophet. One may be a prophet 
without being a seer ; bnt a seer is essentially a prophet — if 
by "prophet" is meant net only a spokesman, but likewise a 
foreteller. Joseph Smith was both prophet and seer. & 

Like Unto Moses. — A seer is one who sees. But it 
is not the ordinary sight that is meant. The seeric gift is a 
supernatural endowment. Joseph was "like unto Moses;" 
and Moses, who saw God face to face, explains how he saw 
him in these words: "Now mine own eyes have beheld 
God ; yet not my natural, but my 1 spiritual eyes ; for my nat- 
ural eyes could not have beheld ; for I should have withered 
and died in his presence ; but his glory was upon me ; and 
I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him." Such 
is the testimony of the ancient Seer, as brought to light by 
the Seer of Latter-days. c 



a, Mosiah 8:15. 

b, Such men as Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philoso- 
rher, and Count Leo Tolstoi, the Russian writer, are sometimes 
referred to as "seers;" it being thought by those who so designate 
them, that the power to think profoundly and express wise and 
intelligent opinions, especially on the future, constitutes seership. 
T t is in this sense that the term "vision" is so much used. But a 
great thinker is not necessarily a seer ; though a seer is apt to be a 
great thinker. Joseph Smith was both; not so Ralph Waldo Emer- 
son ; not so Count Tolstoi. They were great philosophers, but 
there is nothing in the life-work of either to indicate that he pos- 
sessed the power of a seer. 

c, Moses 1:11. Moses further declares that he could look upon 
Satan "in the natural man," but, says he : "I could not look upon 
God, except his glory should ccme upon me and I was strengthened 
before him." 



40 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

Spirit Eyes. — Let it not be supposed, however, that 
to see spiritually is not to see literally. Vision is not fancy, 
not imagination. The object is actually beheld, though not 
with the natural eye. We all have spirit eyes, of which our 
natural or outward eyes are the counterpart. All man's or- 
gans and faculties are firstly spiritual, the body being but 
the clothing of the spirit. In our first estate, the spirit life, 
we "walked by sight." Therefore we had eyes. But they 
were not our natural eyes, for these are not given until the 
spirit tabernacles in mortality. All men have a. spirit sight, 
but all are not permitted to use it under existing conditions. 
Even those thus privileged can only use it when quickened 
by the Spirit of the Lord. rf Without that, no man can know 
the things of God, "because they are spiritually) discerned. " c 
Much less can he look upon the Highest unspiritually, with 
carnal mind or with natural vision. "No man" — no natural 
man — "hath seen God at any time."^ But men at divers 
times have seen him as Moses saw him — not with the nat- 
ural but 1 with the spiritual eye, quickened by the power that 
seeth and knoweth all things. 

By the Holy Ghost. — The seeric faculty, possessed 
in greater degree by some than by others, is the original 
spirit sight reinforced or moved upon by the power of the 
Holy Ghost. By this means certain persons, peculiarly gifted 
and sent into the world for that purpose, are able, even while • 
in the flesh, to see out of obscurity, "out of hidden dark- 
ness," and behold the things of God pertaining both to time 
and to eternity. Joseph Smith possessed this ability — this 
gift, but it was the Spirit of the Lord that enabled him to 
use it. By that Spirit he beheld the Father and the Son; and 



d, D. and C. 67:11. 

e, 1 Cor. 2:9-14. 
/, John 1:18. 



WHAT JOSEPH BEHELD. 41 

by that Spirit, operating through the same marvelous gift, 
he translated the cryptic contents of the Book of Mormon. 
How the Book of Mormon was Translated. — The re- 
puted method of translation was as follows : The Seer, 
scanning through the "interpreters" (Urim and Thummim) 
the golden pages, saw appear, in connection with the strange 
characters engraved thereon, their equivalent in English 
words. These he repeated to his scribe — Oliver -Cowdery 
most of the time — and the latter wrote them. It was a pe- 
culiarity of the process that, until the writing was correct in 
every particular, the words last given would not disappear; 
but on the necessary correction being made, they* would im- 
mediately pass away and be succeeded by others/ 

The Priesthood Restored, — The greater part of the 
Book of Mormon was translated at Harmony, Pennsylvania, 
the home of Joseph's father-in-law, Isaac Hale. While the 
Prophet and his scribe were thus employed (May 15, 1829) 
John the Baptist, as an angel from heaven, conferred upon 
them the Aaronic Priesthood. 71 Soon afterward they were 
ordained to the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, by three 
other heavenly messengers, the Apostles Peter, James and 
John. 1 ' By virtue of this authority, and pursuant to divine 
direction, the two young men, associated with a few others 
organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Petty Persecution. — During their sojourn in the lit- 
tle Pennsylvania village, Joseph and Oliver suffered con- 
siderable annoyance at the hands of mischievous persons 
who, having no faith in their work and regarding it as 



g, David Whitmer's "Address to all True Believers in Christ," 
p. 12; and Martin Harris' Statement to Edward Stevenson, Mil- 
lennial Star, Vol. 44, pp. 86, 87. 

h, D. and C, 13. 

I, Hist. Ch. Vol. 1 pd. 39-42, Note. 



42 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

a hoax, seemed bent upon rendering their situation as dis- 
agreeable as possible. Learning of their unpleasant situa- 
tion, and desiring to help along the sacred task to which 
they were devoting themselves, Peter Whitmer, Sr., a 
farmer living at Fayette, Seneca County, New York, sent 
his son David with a team and wagon to bring them to the 
Whitmer home. 

David Whitmer's Account. — : "When I arrived at Har- 
mony," says David Whitmer, "Joseph and Oliver were com- 
ing towards me and met me at some distance from the 
house. Oliver told me that Joseph had informed him when 
I started from home, where I had stopped the first night, 
how I read the sign at the tavern, where I stopped the sec- 
ond night, etc., and that I would be there that day before 
dinner; and this was why they had come out to meet me. 
All of which was exactly as Joseph had told Oliver; at 
which I was greatly astonished."- 7 It was at the Whitmer 
farmhouse, in Fayette, that the Church was organized, 
April 6th, 1830. 

Newel K. Whitney and the "Stranger." — Another in- 
stance of Joseph's use of the seeric gift connects with the 
occasion of his arrival at Kirtland, Ohio, where the Church, 
at an early day,. established its headquarters. A few month,* 
prior to that time, Oliver Cowdery and three other Elders, 
on their way to preach the Gospel to the Lamanites, or In- 
dians, had tarried for a season at Kirtland, where they con- 
verted a number of the white dwellers in that region. Among 
these were Sidney Rigdon, Newel K. Whitney, and others 
who became prominent in the "Mormon" community. The 
Saints in Ohio, learning that the Church would probably 



U David Whitmer's Statement to Orson Pratt and Joseph F 
Smith, Mill. Star, Vol. 40, p. 772, 



WHAT JOSEPH BEHELD. 43 

move westward, began to pray for the coming of the 
Prophet. 

The prayer was soon answered. About the first of Feb- 
ruary, 1831, a sleigh, driven into Kirtland from the East, 
drew up in front of the mercantile store of Gilbert and 
Whitney. A stalwart young man alighted and walked into 
the store. Approaching the junior partner and extending 
his hand cordially, as if to an old and familiar acquaintance, 
he saluted him thus: "Newel K. Whitney, thou art the 
man !" 

The merchant was astonished. He had never seen this 
person before. "Stranger," said he, "You have the ad- 
vantage of me; I could not call you by name as you have 
me." 

"I am Joseph the Prophet," said the stranger, smiling. 
"You have prayed me here, now what do you want of me?" 

Joseph Smith, while in the State of New York, had seen 
Newel K. Whitney, in the State of Ohio, praying for his 
coming to Kirtland; and therefore knew him when they 
met.* 5 The purpose of this vision, in all probability, was to 
pave the way for a meeting between the Prophet and the 
man who was to have the honor of entertaining him during 
the first weeks after his arrival in Ohio. 

Vision of the Three Glories. — One of the most glori- 
ous manifestations ever vouchsafed to mortals, came to Jo- 
seph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, in the month of February, 
1832. They were at Hiram, Portage County, Ohio, where 
the Prophet, assisted by Elder Rigdon, who had been a 
Campbellite preacher, was occupied with revising the 
English translation of the Hebrew Bible — a circumstance 



k, Hist. Ch., Vol 1, pp. 145, 146. Note, 



44 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

that may have given rise to the oft-refuted story of Rig- 
don's authorship of the Book of Mormon.' The manifesta- 
tion referred to was a vision of human destiny, including 
the three general conditions of glorified man — celestial, ter- 
restrial, and telestial. Concerning this marvelous vision, Jo- 
seph and Sidney thus testify : 

"We, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon, being in 
the Spirit on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our 
Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the 
power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our un- 
derstandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand 
the things of God . . . 

"Of whom we bear record, and the record which we 
bear is the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the 
Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the 
heavenly vision. " m 

Thus is furnished an additional proof that it is by the 
power of God, and not of man, that mortals behold the 
visions of eternity. 

The Greenville Incident. — In May of the same year, 
Joseph Smith, President of the Church, and Newel K. 



/, Sidney Ridgon had never so much as seen the Book of Mor- 
mon, until several months after it was published, when a copy 
of it was handed to him in Northern Ohio, by Parley P. Pratt, 
one of the Elders of the Lamanite Mission. Parley and Sidney 
corroborate each other in their separate accounts of this incident. 
Moreover Sidney's acquaintance with Joseph Smith did not begin 
until almost a year after the Book of Mormon came forth. Yet 
he was charged with creating it, with converting a religious history 
into a secular romance entirely dissimilar in character and style 
from the Nephite record — a romance written by one Solomon 
Spaulding. A full account of this discredited theory of the origin 
of the Book of Mormon may be found in George Reynolds' ''Myth 
of the Manuscript Found," and in "Whitney's History of Utah," 
Vol. 1, pp. 46-56. 

m, D. and C. 76:11, 12, 14. See also Article Forty, this Series. 



WHAT JOSEPH BEHELD. 45 

Whitney, Bishop of Kirtland, were returning from a visit 10 
Jackson County, Missouri, where, since the summer of 1831, 
a "Mormon" colony had been laying the foundations of the 
City of Zion, upon grounds consecrated by the. Prophet for 
that purpose. The returning visitors were detained several 
weeks at Greenville, Indiana ; the Bishop having a broken 
leg, caused by leaping from a runaway stage coach. Sur- 
rounded by unfriendly people, some of whom he suspected 
of an attempt to poison him, the Prophet proposed that they 
forthwith leave that dangerous neighborhood. His record 
goes on to say: 

"Brother Whitney had not had his foot moved from 
the bed for nearly four weeks, when I went into his room, 
after a walk in the grove, and told him if he would agree to 
start for home in the morning, we would take a wagon to 
the river about four miles, and there would be a ferry-boat 
in waiting, which would take us quickly across, where we 
would find a hack which would take us directly to the land- 
ing, where we should find a boat in waiting, and we would 
be going up the river before ten o'clock, and have a pros- 
perous journey home. He took courage and told me he 
would go ; we started the next morning and found every- 
thing as. T had told him."" 

A White Lamanite. — Still another instance. In 1834, 
while the "Zion's Camp" expedition was on its way to 
Missouri, some of the party exhumed from an ancient 
mound the skeleton of a man having a stone-pointed ar- 
row between two of his ribs. The Prophet, in a vision of 
the past, discovered the identity of this skeleton, and in- 



n, Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, pp. 271, 272. 
o, See Article Twenty- four. 



40 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

formed his brethren that the man's name was Zelph, that he 
was "a white Lamanite,"^ and had been killed in battle by 
the arrow found between his ribs."*? 

Kirtland Temple Visions. — By this same power Jo- 
seph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the Temple at Kirt- 
land, Ohio (April 3rd, 1836), beheld Jehovah, the God of 
Israel; also Moses, Elias and Elijah, who committed to 
them spiritual keys necessary for carrying on various phases 
of the Lord's work/ 

Adam's Altar. — In 1838, after the main body of the 
Church had moved to Missouri, the Saints built several 
towns and projected others in Caldwell and other counties 
of that State. One of those towns was at Spring Hill, Davis 
County, where the men who made the survey for a new set- 
tlement came upon the ruins of an ancient altar, situated on 
a wooded hill overlooking the surrounding country. Straight- 
way they reported to the Prophet their interesting find. He, 
upon beholding it, said to those who were with him : "There 
is the place where Adam offered up sacrifice after he was 
cast out of the Garden."- 9 

The Old-New World. — America, according to Joseph 
Smith, is the Old World — not the New*. The primeval 
Garden was in the part now called Jackson County. Our 
First Parents, after their expulsion from Eden, dwelt in 
the place where this altar stood. The Lord named it Adam- 
ondi-Ahman, "because it isi the place where Adam shall 



p, 3 Nephi 2:14-16. 

q, Hist. Ch. Vol. 2, pp. 79, 80. 

r, D. and C. 110. 

s, "Life of Heber C. Kimball," p. 222; Taylor's "Mediation and 
Atonement," pp. 69, 70; Whitney's "History of Utah"— Biography 
A. O. Smoot, Vol. 4, p. 99. 

t t The Prophet's inspired declaration to that effect finds con- 
firmation in the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Agassiz, 
and John Fiske. 



WHAT JOSEPH BBHELD. 47 

come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sic, 
as sooken of bv Daniel the Prophet."" 

All this by the power of seership — all this and more ; for 
many other instances might be given. But these will suf- 
fice to show the nature of this rare and precious gift, and 
the manner of its exercise by the mighty Seer and Prophet 
holding the keys of this Gospel dispensation. 

u, D. and C. 116. 



ARTICLE SEVEN. 

What Joseph Foretold. 

The Proof of Prophecy. — To prove one a prophet, it 
is necessary to show, not only that he prophesied, but that 
things predicted by him came to pass. Measured by this 
standard, Joseph Smith's claim to the title is clear and un- 
impeachable. I shall not attempt to enumerate all his proph- 
ecies, but will mention some of the more notable, as dem- 
onstrating his possession of the wonderful power to unlock 
and reveal the future. 

Earliest Predictions. — The Angel Moroni's promise 
to the boy, that he, an obscure and unlettered country lad, 
should live to do a work that would cause his name to be 
known among- all nations, has been often cited — too often 
to require extended comment here. The same may be said 
of Isaiah's familiar declaration, that in the presence of 
God's wondrous work, the wisdom of the wise should perish 
and the understanding of the prudent be hid. & These prom- 
ises are fulfilling daily. Passing them by with this brief 
mention, I take up one of the best known of Joseph Smith's 
predictions, namely, the "Revelation and Prophecy on 
War." 

An Ominous Christmas Gift. — This tremendous fore- 
cast, relating not only to the fierce internecine struggle be- 
tween the Northern and Southern States of the American 
Union, but to other and mightier upheavals as well, some 
past and some yet future, was launched at Kirtland, Ohio, 
on the 25th of December, 1832. It may be said, therefore, 
that it came as a solemn Christmas gift to the inhabitants of 



a/Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, pp. 11, 12. 
b, Isa. 29: 14. 



WHAT JOSEPH FORETOLD. 49 

the world, warning them to prepare for terrible events. 

War and Other Calamities, — The Prophet declared 
that war would "be poured out upon all nations," beginning 
at a certain place. That place was South Carolina. The 
Southern States, divided against the Northern States, would 
call upon Great Britain, and Great Britain would call upon 
other nations, for defensive assistance against hostile pow- 
ers. Slaves, rising against their masters, would be "mar- 
shalled and disciplined for war ;" and the red remnants "left 
of the land" would "become exceeding angry" and "vex the 
Gentiles with a sore vexation." By bloodshed and famine, 
plague, earthquake and tempest, the inhabitants of the earth 
would mourn and "be made to feel' the wrath and indigna- 
tion and chastening hand of an Almighty God." The Proph- 
et exhorted his followers to "stand in holy places and be not 
moved, until the day of the Lord come." c 

For nineteen years this prophecy remained in manu- 
script, though copies of it were carried by "Mormon" mis- 
sionaries and read to their congregations in various parts of 
the world. In 1851 it was published at Liverpool, the first 
edition of "The Pearl of 'Great Price" containing it. There- 
fore, it was a matter of public note and printed record long- 
before the dire fulfillment began. 

Beginning of the Fulfillment. — The revelation had 
been in existence twenty-eight years, three months, and 
seventeen days, when, on the twelfth of April, 1861, the 
Confederate batteries in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, 
opened fire on Fort Sumter, thus precipitating the war be- 
tween the North and the South. As is well known, it arose 
over the slave question, a circumstance fulfilling another of 
Joseph Smith's predictions — one dated April 2nd, 1843.^ 



c, D. and C. 87. 

d, lb. 130:12, 13. 

4 



50 SEERSH1P AND PROPHECY. 

Southern States call on Great Britain. — How eleven 
of the Southern States, bent upon withdrawing from the 
Union and establishing an independent government south 
of the Mason and Dixon Line, called upon Great Britain, 
and were accorded a measure of encouragement by the rul- 
ing classes of that country, need scarcely be told here. The 
arrest and release of the Confederate commissioners, Mason 
and Slidell, who had been sent across the Atlantic to pre- 
sent the case of the seceding States at the Court of St. 
James ; and the subsequent payment by the British Govern- 
ment of the Alabama claims ($15,500,000), for damages 
sustained by United 'States commerce at the hand of Con- 
federate privateers, built and fitted out in British ports, tell 
in part the story. 

The Negro and Indian Questions. — It is also a mat- 
ter of history, that many of the negro slaves, set free by 
President Lincoln's edict of emancipation, and trained as 
tioops, fought in the Northern armies against their former 
masters. Whether or not this was a complete fulfillment of 
the forecast concerning the once enslaved people, remains 
to be seen. The race question was not entirely settled by 
the Civil War; it still hovers as a dark cloud on our na- 
tional horizon. As for Indian troubles, many of which 
have arisen since Joseph Smith prophesied concerning them, 
while apparently they have ceased to "vex," more may yet 
be heard from that quarter before the problem is finally 
solved. 

An Effort to Avert Calamity. — Joseph Smith's last 
public act of a political character was an effort to save his 
country from the awiful calamity that he saw impending. 
To some it may appear strange, even inconsistent, that a 
prophet, after making a prediction, would try to prevent it 
from coming to pass., But it is only a seeming inconsisten- 
cy. It should be remembered that divine promises and 



WHAT JOSEPH FORETOLD. 51 

•prophecies are conditional. There is always an alternative, 
expressed or implied, hinging upon a change of attitude 
or conduct on the part of the person or persons toward 
whom the prophecy is directed. Deem it not incongruous, 
therefore, that this. Prophet, after predicting the. Civil War, 
should endeavor to open a way of escape from the evils he 
had foreseen and foretold. 

In January, 1844, only five months before his martyr- 
dom, Joseph Smith became a candidate for President of the 
United States. One bi the planks of his political platform 
was a proposition to free the slaves of the South — not by 
confiscation, thereby despoiling their owners, but by pur- 
chase, making their freedom a gift from the General Gov- 
ernment ; the funds necessary for the purpose to be realized 
from the sale of public lands. This just and humane prop- 
osition, repeated eleven years later by Ralph Waldo Emer- 
son/ and favored also by Abraham Lincoln, was ignored ; 



e, Josiah Quincy, who visited Joseph Smith at Nauvoo shortly 
before the martyrdom, says of him and his views on slavery : 

"Smith recognized the curse and iniquity of slavery, though he 
opposed the methods of the Abolitionists. His plan was for the 
nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the public lands. 
'Congress,' he said, 'should be compelled to take this course, by 
petitions from all parts of the country ; but the petitioners must dis- 
claim all alliance with those who would disturb the rights of property 
recognized by the Constitution and foment insurrection.' It may be 
worth while to remark that Smith's plan was publicly advocated, 
eleven years later, by one who has mixed so much practical shrewd- 
ness with his lofty philosophy. In 1855, when men's minds had been 
moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Mr. Ralph Waldo 
Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance 'with the 
interest of the South and with the settled conscience of the North. 
It is not really a great task, a great fight for this country to ac- 
complish, to buy that property of the planter, as the British nation 
bought the West Indian slaves.' He further says that the 'United 
States will be brought to give every inch of their public lands for a 
purpose like this.' We, who can look back upon the terrible cost 
of the fratricidal war which put an end to slavery, now say that 
such a solution of the difficulty would have been worthy a Christian 
statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of his time 



52 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

and it cost the Nation a million of lives and billions of treas- 
ure to despise the counsel of a prophet of God, and adopt 
instead what the hate-blinded politicians of that period 
deemed "a more excellent way."^ 

How Stephen A. Douglas Fulfilled Prophecy. — Close- 
ly connected with events immediately preceding the Civil 
War, is another prophecy of Joseph Smith's, uttered May 
18, 1843, and recorded at the time in the journal of his 
private secretary. On the date given, the Prophet dined 
with Stephen A. Douglas, at the home of Sheriff Backens- 
tos, in Carthage, Illinois, the same town where the brothers 
Joseph and Hyrum afterwards met their tragic death. 
Judge Douglas was holding court there. The principal 
topic of conversation after dinner was the persecution of 
the Latter-day Saints in Missouri, not only the Jackson 
County affair of 1833, but the more sanguinary tragedy of 
1838-1839, culminating in the mid-winter expulsion of the 
entire Church — then numbering - twelve to fifteen thousand 
members — and its establishment in the adjoining" State of 
Illinois. An account of these events, at the Judge's request, 
the "Mormon" leader gave. His narrative included a recital 
of the ineffectual attempts made by him and his people to 
obtain from the Federal government a redress of grievances 
Douglas was deeply interested, and strongly condemned 



when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855. 
what shall I say of the political and religious leader who had com- 
mitted himself, in print, as well as in conversation, to the same 
course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by 
such a proposition when war-clouds were discernible in the sky, was 
it not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier, when the heavens 
looked tranquil rnd beneficent." — "Figures of the Past," pp. 397, 398. 
/, President Lincoln, toward the close of the Civil War, "wrote 
a message to Congress, proposing to pay the slaveholders $400,000,- 
000 for their slaves, if the South would only cease fighting. All the 
Cabinet objecting, with a sigh he put the message in his drawer." 
See article, "Lincoln in Victory," by James Morgan Deseret News, 
May 10, 1920. 



WHAT JOSEPH FORETOLD. 53 

the conduct of Missouri. He was very friendly with the 
Prophet, who, continuing the conversation, predicted trouble 
for the Nation unless those wrongs were righted. Then, ad- 
dressing Douglas, he said: "Judge, you will aspire to the 
Presidency of the United States; and if you ever turn your 
hand against me or the Latter-day Saints, you will feel the 
weight of the hand of the Almighty upon you. And you will 
live to see and know that I have testified the truth to you, 
for the conversation of this day will stick to you through 
•life."* 

God's Hand Against Him. — Judge Douglas reaped 
the full fruition of those fateful words. The prophecy con- 
cerning him was first published in the Deseret News, at Salt 
Lake City, September 24, 1856, and on Feburary 26, 1859, 
it appeared in the Millennial Star, at Liverpool. Between 
those dates, Stephen A. Douglas, then a United States 
vSenator — made such by the aid of "Mormon" votes in 
Illinois — turned his hand against his old-time friends and 
supporters. Joseph Smith was dead, but his followers, 
driven from the confines of civilization, were out in the 
wilderness, laying the foundations of the State of Utah. In 
a political speech, at Springfield, Illinois, June 12, 1857, 
Senator Douglas, basing a reference to the "Mormons" 
upon certain wild rumors afloat concerning them, virtually 
accused them of all manner of crimes and abominations. 
The speech was looked upon as a bid for popular favor. 

Then came the Senator's race for the Presidency. His 
prospects at the outset were favorable. His party held the 
preponderance of the national vote, and he was the idol of 
his party. In June, 1860, he was enthusiastically nominated 
by the Democratic Convention at Baltimore. Men scouted 
for him, worked for him, and on election day voted for 



g, William Clayton's Journal, May 18, 1843. 



54 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

him ; but all in vain, God's hand was against him ! His party, 
torn by dissension, divided its strength among three can- 
didates, and was overwhelmingly defeated. "The Little 
Giant" was "snowed under," and his great rival, Abraham 
Lincoln, elevated to the Presidential chair. A few months 
later Senator Douglas died at his home in Chicago. ITe was 
only in the prime of life — aged forty-eight — but he had 
lived long enough to realize that God's prophets do not 
speak in vain. 



ARTICLE EIGHT. 

Looking Westward. 

Why the "Mormons" Migrated. — Foreseeing that the 
Nation would turn a deaf ear to his patriotic appeal for a 
peaceful and just settlement of the slave question, the 
Frophet began to contemplate the removal of the Church 
from close proximity to the scenes of strife and carnage 
that were about to be enacted. It was highly necessary 
that a people chosen for such a purpose — to prepare the 
world for the ushering in of the Reign of Righteousness- 
should remain upon earth to accomplish their mission. In 
order to so remain, they must be out of the way of the 
troubles that were imminent, and, so far as possible, keep 
out of the way until the divine judgments predicted had 
gone forth and done their work. This was one reason why 
the Latter-day Saints migrated to the Rocky Mountains. 

Driven to their Destiny. — Their cruel expulsion from 
Missouri had indirectly contributed to their safety ; for 
when the war-cloud which had long been gathering finally 
burst, it poured out much of its fury upon those very 
lands from which the Saints had been driven. And now, 
their enforced pilgrimage into the all but untrodden wilder- 
ness of the Great West likewise preserved them from 
many trials that would have fallen to their lot 
had they tarried within the area seriously affected by 
the stern events that followed. 

Fleeing the Wrath to Come. — It was a next-best 



a, The history of guerilla warfare and its merciless suppression 
along the Missouri-Kansas border, amply bears out this assertion. 



56 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

course that the fugitive people pursued. Originally they 
were cast for a very different role, but not being ready to 
enact that role, another part was assigned them, one 
destined to prepare them for the greater performance that 
is yet to follow. In order that the community might survive, 
and accomplish, when the time came, the mighty task of 
"redeeming Zion," it was imperative that they should "flee 
the wrath to come." 

The Exodus Foretold. — The removal of the Saints 
to the region of the Rocky Mountains, was the theme of 
a prophecy uttered by Joseph the Seer nearly two years 
before his death, and nearly four years prior to the be- 
ginning of the famous "Mormon Exodus." Nauvoo, 
Illinois, where he then resided, is on the east bank of the 
Mississippi River, and on the west bank, just opposite, is 
the little town of Montrose. From the Prophet's personal 
history, I now quote an entry of Saturday, August 6th, 
1842: 

"Passed over the river to Montrose, Iowa, in company 
with General Adams, Colonel Brewer and others, and 
witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun 
Lodge, Ancient York Masons, at Montrose, by General 
James Adams, Deputy Grand Master of Illinois. While the 
Deputy Grand Master was engaged in giving the requisite 
instructions to the Master-elect, I had a conversation with 
a number of brethren in the shade of the building, on the 
subject of our persecutions in Missouri and the constant 
annoyance which has followed us since we were driven 
from that State. I prophesied that the Saints would con- 
tinue to suffer much affliction, and would be driven to the 
Rocky Mountains. Many would apostatize, others would 
be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in 



LOOKING WESTWARD. 57 

consequence of exposure or disease, 'and some of you will 
live to go and assist in making settlements, build cities, and 
see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the 
Rocky Mountains.' " b 

Anson Call's Narrative. — One of the men who heard 
that prediction was Anson Call, afterwards a prominent 
colonizer in various parts of the Rocky Mountain region. 
His account, descriptive of the Montrose incident, fol- 
lows : 

"A block school-house had been prepared, with shade 
in front, under which was a barrel of ice water. Judge 
Adams was the highest Masonic authority in the State of 
Illinois, and had been sent there to organize this lodge. 
He, Hyrum Smith, and J. C. Bennett, being high Masons, 
went into the house to perform some ceremonies which the 
others were not entitled to witness. These, including Joseph 
Smith, remained under the bowery. Joseph, as he was 
tasting the cold water, warned the brethren not to be too 
free with it. With the tumbler still in his hand, he prophe- 
sied that the Saints would yet go to the Rocky Mountains ; 
and, said he, 'this water tastes much like that of the crystal 
streams that are running from the snow-capped mountains.' 
... I had before seen him in a vision (i. e. while having 
a vision), and now saw, while he was talking, his coun- 
tenance change to white — not the deadly white of a blood- 
less face, but a living, brilliant white. He seemed absorbed 



b, Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, p. 85. 

This prophecy began to be fulfilled early in February, 1846, 
when the first companies of the migrating Saints left Nauvoo for 
the West, crossing the frozen Mississippi on the ice. About the 
middle of Jur*- they reached the Missouri River, then the frontier 
of the Nation, where their further progress was delayed for a whole 
season by the enlistment of the "Mormon" Battalion — five hundred 
men — who responded to a call from the Government and volunteered 
to assist the United States in its war with Mexico. 



5S SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

in gazing upon something at a great distance, and said: T 
am gazing upon the valleys of those mountains.' " c 

The Seeric Power. — Joseph Smith, at that time, was 
standing on the west bank of the Mississippi River, 
fifteen hundred miles from the Rocky Mountains ; yet he 
saw these grand old hills, crowned with unmelting snows, 
and seamed with rugged gorges down which the crystal 
torrents were flowing as they flow today. He actually be- 
held, with spirit vision, these objects — beheld them so 
vividly, that had he been permitted to carry out his partly 
formed purpose of leading his people to their new home in 
rhe wilderness, he would have recognized this land, and 
would have been able to say, as Brigham Young said, 
upon beholding Salt Lake Valley: "This is the Place." d 



c, "This was followed," continues the Call narrative, "by a vivid 
description of the scenery of these mountains as I have since be- 
come acquainted with it. ... It is impossible to represent in 
words this scene which is still vivid in my mind — the grandeur of 
Joseph's appearance, his beautiful descriptions of this land, and his 
wonderful prophetic utterances as they emanated from the glorious 
inspirations that overshadowed him. There was a force and power 
in his exclamations of which the following is but a faint echo : 'Oh 
the beauty of those snow-capped mountains ! The cool refreshing- 
streams that are running down through those mountain gorges.' 
Then, gazing in another direction, as if there was a change of lo- 
cality : 'Oh the scenes that this people will pass through! The dead 
that will lie between here and there.' Then, turning in another di- 
rection, as if the scene had again changed : 'Oh the apostasy that 
will take place before my brethren reach that land ! But, he con- 
tinued, 'the priesthood shall prevail over its enemies, triumph over 
the devil, and be established upon the earth, never more to be thrown 
down.' " Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, pp. 85, 86. Note. 

d, The journey of the Pioneers began at Winter Quarters (now 
Florence, Nebraska) about the middle of April, 1847. It ended on 
the shores of the Great Salt Lake, July 24th of the same year. The 
company, led by President Brigham Young in person, consisted 
originally of 143 men, three women, and two children. The men 
were well armed and equipped, and the company traveled mostly in 
covered wagons, drawn by horses, mules and oxen. Four large 
companies of emigrants followed immediately after the Pioneers, ar- 
riving in Salt Lake Valley during the autumn. 



LOOKING WESTWARD. 59 

Another Prophet and Seer. — But Joseph did not live 
to accompany his people upon their historic journev. 
Another mighty leader was raised up to pilot modern Israel 
lo their promised land. Of Brigham Young it is related, 
ih'xt while crossing the plains west of the Missouri River, in 
the spring and summer of 1847, he had a vision of the 
region that he and his fellow pilgrims were about to in- 
habit. He saw a tent settling down from heaven over the 
Yaliey of the Great Salt Lake, and heard a voice pro- 
claim : "This is the place where my people Israel shall 
pitHi their tents." Such is the testimony of Erastus Snow/ 
one of the principal men who came with President Young 
10 the Rocky Mountains. Consequently when the great 
Pioneer said, "This is the place," he was repeating words 
that had been spoken to him — repeating them while view- 
ing with natural eyes a scene that his spirit eyes had al- 
ready beheld. 

Human Wisdom vs. Divine Guidance. — W hat 

availed, after that, the pessimistic forebodings of the 
mountaineer, James Bridger, who camped with the Pioneers 
just after they passed the Rocky Mountains, and whose 
laconic speech, "I would give a thousand dollars if I 
knew an ear of corn could ripen in Salt Lake Valley," has 
been often and variously quoted? What availed the roseate 
account given of the California Coast by the ultra-optimis- 
tic Samuel Brannan, who, after sailing with a "Mormon" 
colony from New York and landing at the Bay of San 
Francisco, crossed the Sierra Nevada, met the Pioneers on 
Green River, and endeavored to persuade them that the 
flowery slopes of the Pacific were a better place of abode 
for the exiled people than the parched alkali wastes of "The 



J, See Apostle Snow's discourse of July 25, 1880, reproduced 
in the "Improvement Era" for June, 1913. 



60 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

Great American Desert?" Brigham Young knew better 
than Colonel Bridger or Elder Brannan what was for the 
best. Looking past the present into the future, he had for all 
such warnings and persuasions, one reply : "This is the 
flacer 

Prophecy Fulfilled and Vision Verified. — Brigham 
Young was not the man to ignore divine guidance. His 
own vision was before him, beckoning him on ; and Joseph 
Smith's prediction behind him, urging him forward and 
pointing out the way. The Latter-day Saints were to "be- 
come a mighty people" — not in California, not along the 
Pacific Coast, but "in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." 



ARTICLE NINE. 

The Place of Safety. 

An Inspired Choice. — Who can doubt the wisdom 
of the choice that made the Rocky Mountains, in lieu of 
the Pacific Coast, a permanent home for the once homeless 
Latter-day Saints? Had they gone to California, as Elder 
Brannan advised, it would have meant, in all probability, 
their disruption and dispersion as a community, or at all 
events another painful exodus in quest of peace 
and freedom. It would have been to invite, from 
the inhabitants of that region — fast filling up with 
immigrants from those very States where the per- 
secuted people had experienced their sorest 
troubles — a repetition of the woes from which they 
were fleeing. Here in these mountain fastnesses, a thou- 
sand miles from the frontiers of civilization, they were 
safe from mobs and molestation. 

Better Than Elsewhere. — Better for them, in every 
way, that they should bide where Providence placed them. 
The coast country, with all its attractions — and they are 
many — has no such rare climate as can be found in this 
more highly favored region. The land once supposed to be 
worthless, and to redeem which even in part from its 
ancient barrenness, has required years on years of toil and 
privation, turns out to be a veritable treasure-house of 
natural resources, a self-sustaining empire ; and in periods 
of strife and turmoil, when war rocks the world, it is prob- 
ably the safest place beneath the sun. 

The Great War. — This mention again brings to the 
fore Joseph Smith's great "Prophecy on War." It has been 



62 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

seen how the Southern States, when they endeavored to 
withdraw from the Union, "called on Great Britain" for 
recognition and assistance, thus making good a portion of 
the Prophet's prediction. But when did Great Britain "call 
upon other nations," fulfilling in her own case the terms 
of the "Mormon" leader's fateful forecast? Certainly not 
during the stormy period of the "sixties," nor for many 
decades thereafter. 

But the. time came eventually. After the outbreak of the 
World War, when the German hosts were overrunning 
Belgium and Northern France, threatening even England 
herself, Great Britain did call upon the nations with 
which she had made treaties, for the help that she; so sorely 
needed. The visit to America, before and after the United 
States declared war against Germany, of representatives 
of Great Britain and others of the Allied nations, appeal- 
ing for military aid, was a potent factor in inducing our 
Government to send ships and troops across the Atlantic, 
to help beat back the Teutonic invader. 

Only The Beginning. — Very evident is it that the 
tempest of war foretold by Joseph Smith did not cease with 
the close of the conflict between the Northern , and the 
Southern States. The storm has continued intermittently 
to this time. Lulls there have been, but no lasting cessa- 
tion of the strife. Five years after the collapse of the 
Southern Confederacy, came the Franco-Prussian War, 
foreshadowing Germany's mad attempt to conquer the 
world. The American Civil War, the Franco- Prussian 
War, and the more recent World War, were all parts of 
the great "outpouring" predicted on that ominous Christ- 
mas day. And the same may be said of other conflicts that 
have since taken place. Equally true will it be of any future 
strife that may be necessary to help free the world from 



THE PLACE OF SAFETY. 63 

o" prcssion arc! inquity. Unless the wicked repent, there 
is more — much more to come. a 

But i.i what way did the revolt of South Carolina, which 
began the Civil War, prove a "beginning" of wars for "all 
nations" ? This question is intelligently discussed in a 
pamphlet recently put forth by Elder James H. Anderson, 
of Salt Lake City. That writer shows that with the out- 
break of the Southern-Northern conflict, the whole system 
of modern warfare underwent a change, and that since then 
it has experienced a complete revolution, through the in- 
vention and use of machine guns, airships, submarines, and 
other death-dealing instrumentalities, absolutely unknown in 
previous military history, and marking a distinct beginning, 
such as the Prophet indicated. b 

Dangers Upon the Deep. — One frightful feature of 
the unparalleled struggle that ended with the signing of 
the armistice (November 11, 1918), was the havoc wrought 
by the German U-boats, otherwise known as submarines. 
There had been, before the coining of the U-boat, dread- 
ful dangers upon the waters, as the fate of the ill-starred 
"Titanic" — ripped open by an iceberg — testifies. But the 
submarine, the assassin of the "Lusitania," multiplied 
those dangers a hundred fold. Did the proud world know 
that a prophet of God had foreseen these fearful happen- 
ings, and had sounded a warning of their approach ? 

In August, 1831, Joseph Smith, with a party of friends, 
returning from their first visit to Zion in Jackson County, 
encamped on the bank of the Missouri River, at a place 
called Mcllwair's (or Mcllwaine's) Bend. There, one of 
the party, William W. Phelps, saw in vision the Destroyer 



a, D. and C. 5:19; 45:31, 68, 69; 63:33; 88:87-91; 97:22, 23; 
115:6. 

b, See "Prophecies of Joseph Smith and their Fulfillment," by 
Nephi L. Morris, p. 20. 



64 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

riding -in awful fury upon the river, and the incident called 
forth a revelation in which the Lord says : 

"Behold, there are many dangers upon the waters, and 
more especially hereafter; i 

"For I, the Lord, have decreed in mine anger many de- 
structions upon the waters ; yea, and especially upon these 
waters ; 

"Nevertheless, all flesh is in mine hand, and he that is 
faithful among you shall not perish by the waters. 

"Behold, I, the Lord, in the beginning blessed the 
waters, but in the last days, by the mouth of my servant 
John, I cursed the waters. 

"Wherefore, the days will come that no flesh shall be 
safe upon the waters, 

"And it shall be said in days to come that none is able 
to go up to the land of Zion upon the waters, but he that is 
upright in heart. . . . 

"I, the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon 
the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree. " c 

No Flesh Safe Upon the Waters. — Was not this con- 
dition almost realized during the darkest days of the Great 
War? Perils undreamed of developed; disasters wichout 
precedent, unexampled in history, were of frequent occur- 
rence. Even upon the calm Pacific no ship pursued con- 
secutively the same track twice. Companies operating the 
great ocean-liners no longer announced the dates of de- 
parture from one port or of expected arrival at another. 
They dared not; the destroyer was abroad, death was in the 
depths, and the spirit of dread brooded upon the bosom of 
the wafers. And this upon the comparatively peaceful 



c, D. and C. 61:4-6, 14-16, 19. Compare Moses 7:66 and 
Rev. 16:3, 4. 



THE PLACE OF SAFETY. 65 

Western Ocean; while upon the Atlantic, in the Mediter- 
ranean, and in the North Sea, the terrible submarine told 
the tale of danger and disaster. 

The Food Question. — Another phase of the Titanic 
struggle was the food question. Joseph Smith had pre- 
dicted famine ; d and the famine came. As early as October, 
1876, the Prophet's successor, President Brigham Young, 
placed upon the members of the Relief Society a special mis- 
sion — that of gathering and storing grain against a day of 
scarcity ; and from that time the activities of the Society 
were put forth largely in this direction. Some made light 
of the labors of these devoted women, declaring that another 
famine could not be. Too vast an area of the earth's surface 
was under cultivation, and the means of rapid transit and 
communication were too plentiful, to permit of such a mis- 
fortune. If famine threatened any part of the world, word 
of it could come in the twinkling' of 1 an eye, and millions on 
millions of tons of food-stuffs, speedily transported to the 
scene, would stave off the straitness and render the calamity 
impossible. 

The Spectre of Famine..— Alas for those who put 
their trust in the arm of flesh ! In spite of the vast and 
ever-increasing productivity of the soil; in spite of railroads, 
steamships, and telegraphs, spreading a network of steel 
and electricity over the face of the planet, this was, and is 
still, a famine-threatened world. Europe calls upon Amer- 
ica for food ; America generously responds ; but as fast as 
she consigns her cargoes of foodstuffs to the needy nations, 
the merciless and devouring submarine sends them to the 
bottom of the sea. Such indeed was the situation. The 
floor of the ocean is strewn with the wrecks of transports 



d, D. and C. 87:6. 
5 



66 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

whose mission was to carry bread to the starving- millions of 
other lands. And where was the man, uninspired of 
Heaven, who could have anticipated such a catastrophe ? 

Our nation became aroused to the necessity existing for 
the avoidance of waste and the conservation of food stuffs. 
All civilized countries awakened to the same urgent call. The 
"Mormon" grain-storing movement was no longer a joke — 
a target for ridicule. The gaunt spectre of Famine had 
shown a glimpse of his face, and the whole world trembled 
at the prospect. The God of Joseph and of Brigham had 
vindicated the patient labors of His faithful handsmaids, 
and fulfilled in part the solemn forebodings of prophecy. 

"Mormon" Grain for the Government. — Not the least 
item of interest connected with this subject, is the fact that 
the United States Government, through its Food Adminis- 
trator, in May, 1918, made request upon the authorities of 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the 
turning in of all the Relief Society wheat then on hand, for 
use in the war. The request was cheerfully complied with, 
225, COO bushels of wheat being promptly furnished by the 
Church to the Federal Government. 

The Drought of 1919. — How easily a famine could 
come, was shown during the prolonged drought in the sum- 
mer of 1919, when throughout the Intermountain West and 
in regions beyond, lands usually productive lay parching for 
many weeks under the torrid rays of the sun. As a result, 
millions of acres of growing grain, especially in the dry- 
farming districts, perished for want of moisture. And yet 
there are men who deem human powers and earthly re- 
sources all-sufficient, and who declare, in the face of proph- 
ecy, that famine and war are obsolete and never again can 
be. 

A Scholar's Opinion. — Such a pronouncement, as to 
war, was made repeatedly, in public, only a short while 



THE PLACE OF SAFETY. 67 

before the World War broke out. That splendid scholar 
and publicist, David Starr Jordan, expressed by tongue 
and pen his positive conviction that another great conflict, 
in this advanced and cultured age, was humanly impossible 
— it simply could not come/ But Another had said, two 
thousand years before : "Such things must come"/ And not 
long after the delivery of Doctor Jordan's optimistic, well- 
meant prediction, the greatest hell of conflict that this world 
has ever known burst forth and well-nigh wrapt the globe 
in a mantle of smoke and flame. 

The One Safe Guide. — "Men may come and men may 
go," but God and Truth "go on forever." Heaven and 
Earth may pass, but the divine word, by whomsoever 
spoken, will endure unshaken "amid the wreck of matter 
and the crash of worlds." The sure word of prophecy, 
flowing from the fountain of the Spirit, is the one safe 
guide through the chaos of the present and the mystical 
mazes of the future. 

A Prophet's Voice. — More firmly founded than the 
scholarly utterance in question, was a prediction made by 
President Wilford Woodruff, at Brigham City, Utah, in 
the summer of 1894. In the course of a public address, re- 
ferring to the near approach of the judgments of the last 



e, "There is no war coming," said Doctor Jordan to the press 
representatives who flocked to interview him on his return, in 1910, 
from Europe, where he had been lecturing on "Universal Peace." 
"The only battle between England and Germany will be on paper." 
In his book, "War and Waste," published a few years later, he said 
of the "Great War of Europe which never comes" : "The bankers 
will not find the money for such a fight, the industries of Europe 
will not maintain it, the statesmen cannot. . . . There will be 
no general war until the masters direct the fighters to fight. The 
masters have much to gain, but vastly more to lose, and their signal 
will not be given." In August, 1912, the Doctor delivered a spoken 
address to the same effect in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. This was 
just two years before the war that "could not come" — came. 

f, Matt. 24:6, 



68 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

days, the venerable leader said : "Great changes are at our 
doors. The next twenty years will see mighty changes 
among the nations of the earth." And it was just twenty 
years* or in the summer of 1914, when the terrible strife 
that has wrought so many mighty changes swept like a 
whirlwind over the nations. 

Other Prophetic Warnings. — One could almost be- 
lieve that President Woodruff's fellow Apostle, Orson 
Pratt, was gazing with seeric vision upon the same dread- 
ful picture, when he thundered into the ears of the world 
this solemn admonition : "A voice is heard unto the ends 
of the Earth! A sound of terror and dismay! A sound 
of nations rushing to battle ! Fierce and dreadful is the con- 
test ! Mighty kingdoms and empires melt away! The de- 
stroyer has gone forth ; the pestilence that walketh in 
darkness ; the plagues of the last days are at hand ; and 
who shall be able to escape? None but the righteous; none 
but the upright in heart. " g 

Eight years later this same Apostle, then at Liverpool, 
about to embark for America, issued to the inhabitants of 
Great Britain this "Prophetic Warning" : 

"If you will not repent and unite yourselves with 
God's Kingdom, then the days are near at hand when the 
righteous shall be gathered out of your midst. And woe 
unto you when that day shall come, for it shall be a 
day of vengeance upon the British nation ! . . Your 

armies shall perish; your maritime forces shall cease; 
your cities shall be ravaged, burned and made desolate, 
and your strongholds shall be thrown down ; the poor 
shall rise against the rich, and their storehouses and their 
fine mansions shall be pillaged, their merchandise and 
their g'old and their silver and their rich treasures shall be 



g, "The Kingdom of God," July, 1849. 



THE PLACE OF SAFETY. 69 

plundered. Then shall the lords and nobles and the mer- 
chants of the land, and all in high places, be brought down 
and shall sit in the dust and howl for the miseries that 
shall be upon them. And they that trade by sea shall 
lament and mourn ; for their traffic shall cease."* 

Saviors of the Nation. — To escape the judgments 
hanging over the wicked, and find a place where they might 
worship God unmolested, the Latter-day Saints fled to the 
Rocky Mountains. Here, and here only, during the tem- 
porary isolation sought and found, by them in the chambers 
of "the everlasting hills," could they hope to be let alone 
long enough to become strong enough to accomplish their 
greater destiny. For there was more in that enforced exo- 
dus and the founding of this mountain-girt empire than the 
surface facts, reveal. If tradition can be relied upon, Jo- 
seph Smith prophesied that the Elders of Israel would save 
this Nation in the hour of its extremest peril. At a time 
when anarchy would threaten the life of the Government, 
and the Constitution would be hanging' as by a thread, the 
maligned and misunderstood "Mormons" — always patriotic, 
and necessarily so from the very genius of their religion — 
would stand firm upon Freedom's rocky ramparts, and as 
champions of law and order, of liberty and justice, call to 
their aid in che same grand cause kindred spirits from every 
part of the nation and from every corner of the world. All 



h, "Mill. Star" Oct. 24, 1857. Orson Pratt, then presiding over 
the European Mission, had been called home, owing to. a prospect 
of serious trouble between Utah and the United States Government. 
A false report that the "Mormons" were in rebellion against the 
Federal authority had caused the Government to send an army, 
under General Albert Sidney Johnston, to put down the alleged in- 
surrection. Brigham Young, Governor of the Territory (now State) 
of Utah, proclaimed martial law and made preparation to resist the 
"invaders." A part of the preparation was the withdrawal of all 
"Mormon" missionaries from the outside world. It remains but to 
say that "The Utah War" ended by peaceable adjustment and with- 
out bloodshed. 



70 SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. 

this preparatory to a mighty movement that would sweep 
every form of evil from off the face of the land, and rear 
the Zion of God upon the spot consecrated for that pur- 
pose. This traditional utterance of their martyred Seer is 
deeply imbedded in the heart and hope of the "Mormon" 
people. 

"Mormonism's" Monument. — The State of Utah 
with its fringe of offspring' settlements, is no ade- 
quate monument to Latter-day Israel. Zion is their monu- 
ment, and it will stand in Jackson County, Missouri. 
Ephraim is but getting ready for his mighty mission — the 
Lion crouching before he springs. 



PART THREE 



A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 



ARTICLE TEN. 

The Wisdom That Perishes. 

The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the under- 
standing of their prudent men shall be hid. — Isaiah 29:14. 

The Wise and Prudent. — Most strikingly have these 
prophetic words been realized by "Mormonism," in its re- 
lations to the lofty and the learned who have endeavored in 
a worldly way and by means of human wisdom, to account 
for and dispose of it. Strange it is that men and women, 
intelligent, educated and profound, do not see in this great 
religious phenomenon something more than a topic to be 
treated lightly, or in a spirit of harshness and intolerance. 
Giants in intellect as to other themes, when they deal with 
the doctrines, aims and attitude of the Latter-day Saints, 
they seem suddenly changed into dwarfs, mere children, as 
powerless to cope with the mighty problem as were the 
learned Rabbis in the Temple with the youthful and divine 
Son of God. 

Especially is this, the case when they approach the ques- 
tion in a captious mood, determined to find fault, to berate 
and ridicule, rather than to fairly investigate. They cannot 
analyze, cannot even grasp it, and appear incapable of form- 
ing any just or adequate conception regarding it. To reply 
to all the bitter assaults made upon my religion and my 
people would be impossible, even were it worth while. I 
shall not attempt the hopeless task. It will suffice my pur- 
pose to consider here some of the more temperate judg- 
ments passed upon the subject, giving to each such com- 
ment as may be deemed necessary. 



74 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

A Catholic Opinion. — Many years ago there came to 
Utah a learned doctor of divinity, a member of the Roman 
Catholic Church. I became well acquainted with him, and 
we conversed freely and frankly. A great scholar, with 
perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue's end, he seemed to 
know all about theology, law, literature, science and phil- 
osophy, and was never weary of displaying his vast erudi- 
tion. One day he said to me: "You Mormons are all ignor- 
amuses. You don't even know the strength of your own 
position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable 
in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the 
Catholic Church. The issue is between Catholicism and 
Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are 
right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Pro- 
testants haven't a leg to stand on. If we are wrong, they 
are wrong with us, for they were a part of us and," went out 
from us ; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we 
cut off long ago. If we really have, as we claim, the apos- 
tolic succession from St. Peter, there was no need for 
Joseph Smith and Mormonism ; but if we have not that suc- 
cession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, 
and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is 
either the perpetuation of the Gospel from ancient times, or 
the restoration of the Gospel in latter days." 

My reply was substantially as follows : "I agree with 
you, Doctor, in nearly all that you have said, but don't de- 
ceive yourself with the notion that we "Mormons" are not 
aware of the strength of our position. We are better aware 
of it than anyone else. We have not all been to college ; we 
cannot all speak the dead languages ; we may be 'ignor- 
amuses,' as you say ; but we know that we are right, and we 
know that you are wrong." I was just as' frank with him as 
he had been with me, 



THE WISDOM THAT PERISHES. 75 

An Episcopal View. — At a later period I conversed 
with another man of culture, a bishop of the Episcopal 
Church. He affirmed that if Joseph Smith, at the beginning, 
had become acquainted with that religious organization, he 
would have been content, and would have looked no further 
for spiritual light. "But," said the Bishop, "Joseph encoun- 
tered the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, and 
other sects; and their creeds failing to satisfy him, he 
sought elsewhere. Now the Episcopalians have an unbroken 
succession of authority all down the centuries, and if Joseph 
Smith had only formed their acquaintance, he would never 
have gone to the trouble of organizing another church." 

A Psychological Notion. — Still another scholar, a stu- 
dent of psychology aiid an applicant for a doctor's degree 
cit Yale University, presented, in a thesis forming the basis 
for the degree, the theory that Joseph Smith was an epilep- 
tic, and that this accounted for his mental attitude and 
marvelous assertions. That is to say, the Seer did not 
actually behold the wonderful manifestations described by 
him, but only imagined that he beheld them. A distinct de- 
parture, this, from the charge of conscious duplicity, usual- 
ly flung at the founder of "Mormonism." He was sincere, 
then, however much mistaken, and was not guilty of intent 
to defraud. So> far, so good. But in the mind of the author 
of this remarkable hypothesis, the magnificent organiza- 
tion of the "Mormon" Church, conceded by intelligent ob- 
servers of all creeds and parties to be one of the most per- 
fect systems of government in existence, to say nothing of 
its sublime doctrines, replete with poetry and philosophy, 
couched in logical and majestic phrasing — all this sprang 
from the diseased brain of a fourteen-year-old boy who had 
fallen in an epileptic fit! Self-evident absurdities need no 



76 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

argument. They have only to be stated, and they confute 
themselves. 

Learning's Lack of Knowledge. — And these are some 
of the views that learned men take of "Mormonism." 
With all their learning, they are not able to come to a 
knowledge of the Truth. They do< not begin to dream of the 
greatness of God's work, the grandeur of Christ's cause. 
They comprehend but in part its real aims and attitude. 
Even the most conservative assume that Joseph Smith 
stumbled upon something of which he did not know the 
true value, and that it was sheer luck which gave to this 
religion its vantage ground, its recognized strength of 
position. Never was there a grosser error. There are con- 
cepts as much higher than these,' as the heavens 
are higher than the earth. The "Mormons" are 
not the "ignoramuses," when it comes to a consideration of 
the Gospel's mighty themes. 

Spiritual Illumination. — Yet it is not because of na- 
tive "smartness' — not because the followers of Joseph 
Smith are brainier than other people, that they have a 
greater knowledge of God and are capable of loftier ideals 
in religion. It is because they have received, through the 
gift of the Holy Ghost, a perceptive, power, a spiritual 
illumination, which the world, with all its learning, does 
not possess* and without which no man can comprehend 
Divinity or divine purposes. It cannot be had from books or 
schools. Colleges and universities cannot impart it. It comes 
only in one way — God's way, not man's. The Latter-day 
Saints possess it because they have bowed to the will 
of Heaven and rendered obedience to its laws, thus mak- 



a, For further particulars of the epileptic theory, see Woodbridge 
Riley's book, "The Founder of Mormonism," and Robert C. Webb's 
admirable answer thereto in Chapter 26 of "The Real Mormonism." 



THE WISDOM THAT PERISHES. 77 

ing themselves worthy of the inestimable boon. All men may 
have it upon precisely the same conditions. 

Still Another Misconception. — My Episcopalian 
friend said to me on another occasion: "My main objection 
to Mormonism is its narrowness, its illiberality. You 
Mormons are not interested in anything going on outside 
of your own social and religious system. You are in- 
sulated, wrapped up in yourselves, you take no note of 
what other peoples are doing, and you give them no 
credit for the good they accomplish. "For instance" — he 
went on — "the Bible is retranslated, with a view to mak- 
ing it plainer and more intelligible ; but you attach no im- 
portance to work of that kind. Ancient ruins are uncovered, 
buried civilizations brought to light, mystical inscriptions 
on old-time obelisks deciphered and interpreted, in order 
to acquaint the present with the past ; but you put no value 
upon such enterprise. Hospitals are founded ; missions 
maintained ; Christ's name is carried to the heathen ; the 
Bible is published by millions of copies, and persistent ef- 
forts are made to place one in every home. But you take 
no account of these things ; you do not commend such 
labors — you deem them all vain and of no worth." * 

Not Narrow and Illiberal. — The Bishop's remark sur- 
prised me. I was astonished that one so well informed in 
other ways could entertain such an opinion of the Latter- 
day Saints. There may be such a thing as a narrow 
"Mormon;" there may be such a thing as a narrow notion 
in the mind of some "Mormon ;" but there never has been 
and never will be such a thing as a narrow "Mormon- 
ism." To those who know it best, it is a synonym for large- 
ness and liberality, another name for all that is generous 
charitable and sublime. 

Takes Note of All. — So far from ignoring what other 



78 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

peoples and other systems are doing, the typical "Mormon" 
takes careful note of all that happens ; and the spirit of 
his religion, "the Spirit that searcheth all things," enables 
him to assign events and achievements to their proper 
place in the universal scheme. He appreciates and ap- 
plauds every step in the march of progress. "If there is 
anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praise- 
worthy, we seek after these things." So says the Church in 
its Articles of Faith. 

The Fruit of Falsehood. — How, then, do such gross 
misunderstandings arise? They spring from prejudice and 
faulty inference. They are the fruit of falsehood, and of 
that propensity in most people for allowing themselves to 
be influenced' by a one-sided statement — too often by mere 
rumor and hearsay. Confounding principle with practice, 
they mistake the conduct and expressions of individuals 
connected with a cause, for the cause itself, its character, 
its spirit, and the ends at which it aims. 

Translation and Discovery. — Contrary to my Chris- 
tian friend's erroneous deduction, the Latter-day Saints 
aye interested in the retranslation of the Scriptures. And 
why should they not be? Joseph Smith was a translator. 
Did he not translate the Book of Mormon and the Book of 
Abraham ? We believe the Bible to be the word of God only 
so far as it has been translated correctly. Our Prophet 
also revised, by the Spirit of Revelation, the English version 
of the Hebrew Scriptures, making it in many respects more 
comprehensible, and at the same time restoring to it many 
"plain and precious things" that had been taken away. 6 
Why should we not attach importance to work of that kind? 
As for archaeological discoveries, we hail them with joy, 
especially those that throw any light upon the Book of 



b, Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, p. 132. 1 Nephi 13:35, 40. 



THE WISDOM THAT PERISHES. 79 

Mormon, that silent witness "whispering from the dust" c of 
America's "buried civilizations." 

Christian Endeavor and "Mormon" Propaganda. — Go 
on, good Christian brother ! Build as many hospitals and 
found as many missions as you like. Spread the glad tid- 
ings over the world, and sound the Savior's name from 
pole to pole. You cannot blazon the fame of Jesus Christ too 
far or too widely to suit us. You cannot publish too many 
Bibles, nor place them in too many homes. Such enterprise 
makes the follow-up work of the "Mormon" missionary 
just that much less difficult. It virtually introduces the 
message that he comes to proclaim. The Stick of Joseph 
and the Stick of Judah are "one in the hand of Ephraim," d " 
Latter-day Israel, chosen and commissioned to prepare the 
way before Messiah's coming. 



c, Isa. 29 :4. 

d, Ezek. 37:16-19. 



ARTICLE ELEVEN. 
The God Story. 

Greater than it Appears. — "Mormonism" is a much 
bigger thing than Catholic scholars or Episcopal bishops 
imagine. It is only a nickname for the Everlasting Gospel, 
restored to earth in the nineteenth century, that it might be 
preached "to every nation and kindred and tongue and peo- 
ple."' 7 as a warning to the world that the end of wickedness 
is nigh, that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and that 
the Lord whom the righteous seek is about to "come sud- 
denly to his Temple." fc 

The Antiquity of the Gospel. — The Gospel originated 
in the heavens before this earth was formed, and was re- 
vealed from God out of Eternity at the very beginning of 
Time. It was the means whereby our great ancestor, Adam, 
after his expulsion from Eden, regained the Divine Pres- 
ence from which he had been banished ; and it is the means 
whereby his posterity, such as are obedient to the Gospel's 
requirements, may follow him into the Celestial Kingdom. 
The same ladder that he climbed, until beyond the reach 
of the fatal consequences of his transgression, the whole 
human race, inheriting from him the effects of the fall, 
must also climb, or they will never see the face of God in 
eternal glory. 

The Path to Perfection. — But the Gospel is more than 
a means of escape from impending ills. To all good Chris- 
tians it is as a life-boat, or a fire-escape, a way out of 
a perilous situation. To the Latter-day Saints, it is all this 



a, Rev. 14:6. 

b, Mai. 3:1. 



THE GOD STORY. 81 

and more. A divine plan for human progress, the fore- 
ordained Pathway to Perfection — -such is Christ's Gospel, 
as revealed to and proclaimed by Joseph the Seer. 

The Word Made Flesh. — The English word "Gospel" 
comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Godspell" or God-story — 
the Story of God. It derives its significance from that great 
central idea of the Christian faith, the coming of God as 
the Son of God to redeem and save mankind. "God himself 
shall come down among the children of men, and shall re- 
deem his people ; and because he dwelleth in flesh, he 
shall be called the Son of God." c The fulfillment of this 
and similar foretellings is recorded in the opening verses of 
the Gospel according ta St. John, referring to "The Word" 
that was in the beginning "with God" — the Word that "was 
God," and was "made flesh." In Him, as Paul affirms, 
"dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. " d 

Basic Principles. — When we consider the Gospel, 
therefore, we should bear in mind that the term means 
something more than faith, repentance, baptism, and the 
laying on of hands for the gift (giving) of the Holy 
Ghost, with other rituals and requirements in the Church 
of Christ. We cannot separate "the laws and ordinances of 
the Gospel" from the basic principles upon w*hich they rest 
— the mighty foundation stones of Sacrifice and Redemp- 
tion, without which all this sacred legislation would be of 
no effect. Nor can the basic principles and powers that vit- 
alize and make operative these laws and ordinances be dis- 
sociated from the idea of Eternal Progression, the great 



c, Mosiah 15:1, 2; 3:5. The joyful intelligence of the advent 
•of the World's Redeemer, proclaimed by angels to the shepherds 
on the Judean hills (Luke 2:10), furnishes another name for the 
Gospel — "good tidings," or, as otherwise rendered, "glad tidings of 
great joy." 

d, Col. 2:9. Compare Ether 3:14, and Alma 11:38, 39. 

6 



82 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

arid paramount purpose for which the Gospel code was 
framed, the Gospel in its fulness instituted/ 

The Complete Story. — The Gospel, in its fullest scope 
of meaning, signifies everything connected with the 
wondrous career of that Divine Being who was known 
among men as Jesus of Nazareth, but who was and is no 
other than Jehovah, the God of Israel, who "came unto his 
own," and was rejected by them, crucified at their instiga- 
tion, and died to redeem the world/ The accounts given by 
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are properly termed 
•'gospels," for they are narratives of the personal ministry 
o{ our Lord. But they are only parts of the complete God- 
Story.^ The Savior's life, death, resurrection £uid ascension, 
with the conditions prescribed by him upon which fallen 
man might profit further from his sacrifice for human re- 
demption — these are all gospel features, but not the Gospel 
in its entirety. 



e, All fulness is relative, as pertaining to the revealed word of 
God. There can be no absolute fulness with man until everything 
is made known to him. The fulness of the Gospel, as delivered to 
the Nephites and other ancient peoples, was not so complete as is 
the fulness enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. Truth is always the 
same, but more of its principles have been revealed in modern times 
than at any previous period. And the end is not yet; for, as our 
Prophet declares : "Those things which never have been revealed 
from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the 
wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in 
this, the dispensation of the fulness of times." (D. and C. 128:18.) 
Such an outpouring of truth and light can come only to a people pre- 
pared for it. "When that which is perfect is come, then that which 
is in part shall be done away" (I Cor. 13:10). Until then a com- 
parative fulness, or all that the finite mind can contain of infinite 
wisdom, must suffice human aspiration and continue to be the lot 
even of the most enlightened. 

f, D. and C. 110:1-4. 

g, The book of Isaiah is sometimes called "the fifth gospel," it 
having so much to say about the coming Redeemer; and just as 
fittingly might the third book of Nephi be termed a "gospel," nar- 
rating as it does the risen Christ's personal ministrations to the 
descendants of Lehi. 



THE GOD STORY. 83 

The full "Story" of the God who died that man might 
live, involves events both past and future, events pr~ 
mortal and post-mortal, scenes in which He was chosen 
to play his mighty part in the great tragedy of human ex- 
perience, and scenes yet to come in which He will • make 
another and a more glorious appearing upon the stage of 
Time, enacting the illustrious role of King of Kings and 
reigning over the earth a thousand years. 

Essentials to Eternal Progress. — Everything vitally 
connected with man's mortal pilgrimage was understood 
and arranged before that pilgrimage began. Earth's crea- 
tion was but one of the pre-essentials. 7t The means of 
getting man down upon the earth, and the means of re- 
deeming him from the fall, had also to be provided. The 
Gospel was instituted, and an Executor appointed to put 
it into effect ; the machinery constructed, and the power 
then turned on. Eternal progress, endless exaltation, were 
the sublime objects in view, and over the glad prospect, de- 
spite the pain and sorrow that must necessarily intervene, 
"the morning stars sang- together, and all the sons of 
God shouted for joy."* 

Elect of Elohim. — In the Eternal Councils, while 
the creation of "an earth" was in contemplation, the ques- 
tion arose as to who among the Sons of Deity should re- 
deem man from the fall. Lucifer, "an angel of God who 
was in authority in the presence of God," would fain have 
been selected for the mighty mission ; but his scheme for 
human redemption was of a compulsory character, destruc- 
tive of the free agency of man. Moreover, this "Son of 
the Morning" had become darkened to that degree that 
he demanded, in recompense for his proposed service, the 



h, Abr. 3 :24. 
i, Job 38:7. 



84 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

honor and glory that belong only to the Highest.-' There- 
fore was he rejected, and, rebelling, "was thrust down 
from the presence of God and the Son, and was called 
Perdition, for the heavens wept over him." /,; "And also a 
third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away . . . 
because of their agency."' 

The Chosen of the Father stood first among all the 
Sons of God. m He is the Father's first-begotten in the 
spirit, and his only-begotten in the flesh. To him was 
assigned the role of Earth's Redeemer. And while revela- 
tion is silent upon the subject, or not so specific in their 
cases, we have good reason to believe that the parts 
played by Adam and Eve and other "noble and great 
ones" in the mighty drama of Eternal Progression, were 
cast at the same time." 

The Perfect Plan. — The Gospel, Christ's perfect plan, 
unlike the defective scheme proposed by Lucifer, gives the 
right of choice between good and evil. It saves men, not in 
their sins, but from their sins — liberates them from spiritual 
darkness, the bondage of death and hell, and lifts them 
into the joy and freedom of light and life eternal. Hence 
that splendid phrase, that majestic synonoym, used by the 
Apostle James in describing the Gospel — "The Perfect 
Law of Liberty." 

The Purpose Paramount. — The grand object in view 



j, Moses 4:1-4. 

k, D. and C. 76 :25, 26. 

I, lb. 29:36. _ • 

"Satan (it is possible) being opposed to the will of his Father, 
wished to avoid the responsibilities of this position. . . . He 
probably intended to make men atone for their own acts by an act 
of coercion and the shedding of their own blood as an atonement 
for their sins." — "The Mediation and Atonement," by President 
John Taylor, pp. 96, 97. 

m, Rom. 8 :29. 

n, Abr. 3:23; Jer. 1 :S, Hist. Ch. Vol. 6, p. 364. 

o, James 1 :25. 



THE GOD STORY. 85 

when that great Law was instituted, is clearly, though 
briefly, outlined in the following passage from the writ- 
ings of Joseph the Seer : 

"The first principles of man are self-existent with 
God. . . Finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, 
because he was more intelligent (he) saw proper to in- 
stitute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to ad- 
vance like himself. The relationship we have with God 
places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has 
power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, 
that they may be exalted with himself, so that they may 
have one glory upon another."^ 

The Benevolence of Deity. — And thus is shown the 
benevolence as well as the power of Deity. Our Heavenly 
Father is no monopolist. Omnipotent and all-possessing, 
he is likewise altruistic, philanthropic. He employed his 
superior intelligence, which constitutes his glory, 9 to in- 



p, "Times and Seasons," Aug. 15, 1844; "Improvement Era," 
Jan., 1909. 

Our Prophet's simple yet sublime setting- forth is far more 
pointed and specific than the presentment made by Plato of a doc- 
trine somewhat similar. The Greek philosopher, as quoted by 
Emerson, says : "Let us declare the cause which led the Supreme 
Ordainer to produce and compose the universe. He was good; 
and he who is good has no kind of envy. Exempt from envy, he 
wished that all things should be as much as possible like himself. 
Whosoever, taught by wise men, shall admit this as the prime cause 
cf the origin and foundation of the world, will be in the truth" 
("Plato," Emerson's "Representative Men"). There is a fitness, 
a propriety, in man's becoming like his Maker — God's child, fash- 
ioned in his image and endowed with divine attributes, developing 
to the fulness of the parental stature, as taught by Joseph; but how 
the same can be predicated of "all things," as Plato implies, is not 
so clear. That the lower animals, and in fact all forms of life, are to 
be perpetuated and glorified, is more than an inference fr<~m the 
teachings of the Prophet (D. and C. 29:24, 25; 77:2-4' But 
Undoubtedly all will retain their identity in their respective orders 
and spheres. No creature of God's excepting man. can become like 
God in the fullest and highest sense. 

q, D. and C. 93:36. 



86 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

stitute laws whereby the lesser spirits surrounding him 
might advance toward the lofty plane that he occupies. He 
proposed to lift them to his own spiritual stature, and 
share with them the empire of the universe. 

Salvation and Exaltation. — The Gospel of Christ is 
termed by St. Paul "the power of God unto salvation. " r 
Paul might have gone further, had he been so inclined, or 
had it been timely. He could have shown that the Gospel 
is also the power of God unto exaltation, a plan devised 
by omnipotent wisdom whereby the sons and daughters 
of Deity may advance from stage to stage of soul de- 
velopment, until they become like their heavenly parents, 
the Eternal Father and Mother, inheriting endless thrones 
and dominions and receiving "a fulness of joy/ 

This is exaltation. It is more than salvation, being an 
extension of that idea or condition — salvation "added 
upon;" just as'», salvation is an extension of, or an addition 
to, the idea or condition of redemption. A soul may be 
redeemed — that is, raised from the dead — and yet be con- 
demned at the Final Judgment for evil deeds done in che 
body. Likewise may -a soul be saved, and yet come short of 
the glory that constitutes exaltation. To redeem, save and 
glorify, is the threefold mission of the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. 



r, Rom. 1 :16. 

s, D. and C. 76:50-70; 93:33; Abr. 3:26. 



ARTICLE TWELVE. 

The Great Vicissitudes. 

Fall and Redemption. — The Fall of Man and the Re- 
demption from the Fall, are the great vicissitudes of human 
experience. One is Sequel to the other, and both are steps in 
the march of eternal progress. The Gospel, therefore, em- 
braces the fall as well as the redemption. Both were essen- 
tial, and both Were preordained. The one prepared the 
way before the other. Had there been no fall, there could 
have been no redemption ; for the simple reason that 
there would have been nothing to redeem. 

The Creation. — Preliminary to the fall, came the 
creation. Earth, created as an abode and a place of pro- 
bation for mortal man, was not made out of nothing, as 
human theology asserts, but out of previously existing ma- 
terials, as divine revelation affirms. Millions of earths had 
been created in like manner before this planet rolled into 
existence. 

To create does not mean to make something out of 
nothing. Such a doctrine is neither scientific nor scriptural. 
Nothing remains nothing, of necessity ; and no power, 
human or divine, can make it otherwise. Creation is 
organization, with materials at hand for the process. 
Joseph Smith's position upon this point, » though corn- 
batted by doctors of divinity, is confirmed by the most 
advanced scientists and philosophers of modern times. The 
dogma that earth was made out of nothing is an attempt to 
glorify Deity by ascribing to him the power to perform the 
impossible — to do that which cannot be done. As if Deity 



a, Moses 1:4, 38; 7:30. 



88 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

could be glorified with anything of that sort, or jiad need 
of any such glorification. It is also an effort to escape from 
what many religious teachers consider a dilemma, the 
other horn of which would commit them to what they mis- 
takenly deem a fallacy — namely, the eternity and self-ex- 
istence of matter.* 7 

Eternity of Matter. — "Mormonism" stands firm- 
footed upon this ground. It holds matter to be uncreate- 
able, indestructible, without beginning or end, and conse- 
quently eternal/ As for modern science, here are a few 
of its most recent conclusions upon the point at issue. Says 
Herbert Spencer: "The doctrine that matter is indes- 
tructible has become a commonplace. All the apparent 
proofs that something can come out of nothing, a wider 
knowledge has one by one canceled ("First Principles"). 
And John Fiske confirms him in saying: "It is now in- 
conceivable that a particle of matter should either come 
into existence, or lapse into non-existence" ("Cosmic Phil- 
osophy"). Robert K. Duncan clinches the argument with 
the emphatic pronouncement : "We cannot create some- 
thing out of nothing" ("New Knowledge"). 

Spirit and Element. — But Joseph Smith proclaimed 
it first. He declared the elements eternal ; d and even went 



b, The Reverend Baclen Powell, of Oxford University, quoted in 
Kitto's "Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," says : "The idea of 
'creation,' as meaning absolutely 'making out of nothing,' or calling 
into existence that which did not exist before, in the strictest sense 
cf the term, is not a doctrine of scripture ; but it has been held by 
many on the grounds of natural theclogy, as enhancing the ideas we 
form of the divine power, and more especially since the contrary 
must imply the belief in the eternity and self-existence of matter." 

c, The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews asserts nothing to 
the contrary when he says: "Things which are seen were not made 
of things which do appear (Heb. 11:3). The "things" referred to 
("the worlds" that were "framed by the word of God") had ex- 
isted before, in other forms, invisible to mortal eye and intangible 
to human touch. 

d, D. and C. 93:33. 



THE GREAT VICISSITUDES. 89 

so far as to say: "All spirit is matter, but it is more fine 
and pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.' v 
Eternal spirit, eternal element, these are the "materials" 
out of which Earth was created — not only as a temporary 
abode for man, but as an eternal place of residence for 
the righteous. 

The Value of a Body. — Man needed experience in 
mortality, in the midst of rudimental conditions, in 
oider to acquire the experience that would fit him for 
spheres beyond. First, however, he needed a body, for pur- 
poses of increase and progression, both in time and etern- 
ity. The spirit without the body is incomplete; it cannot 
propagate, and it cannot go on to glory. "Spirit and ele- 
ment, inseparably connected, receiveth a fulness of joy; but 
when separated man cannot receive a fulness of joy."^ It 
is a reasonable inference that our spirits advance as far as 
they can before they are given earthly bodies. Having re- 
ceived their bodies, they are in a position, by means of 
the Gospel and the powers of the Priesthood, to make 
further progress toward perfection. "We came to this 
earth," says Joseph Smith, "that we might have a body, and 
present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The 
great principle of happiness consists in having a body."^ 

Satan's Punishment. — The Prophet thus continues : 
"The Devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. . . 
All beings who have bodies have power over those who have 
not." The reason why Satan has no body is because he re- 
belled in the eternal councils when the Redeemer of the 
World was chosen. All who followed him shared a similar 
fate. Two thirds of the intelligences then populating the 
spirit world remained loyal, and as a reward for their 



e, D. and C. 131 :7. 

f, lb. 93:33, 34. 

g, "Compendium" p. 288; Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, p. 403. 



90 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

fidelity were permitted to tabernacle in the flesh. One third, 
rebelling with Lucifer, were doomed with him to perdi- 
tion. Pending their final fate, these unemflbodied fallen 
spirits are allowed to wander up and down the world, 
tempting and trying its human inhabitants, their evil activi- 
ties being overruled in a way to subserve God's purpose in 
man's probation. 

Placed in Eden. — Earth having been prepared for 
man, Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden — 
placed there to become mortal, that the Lord's purpose 
might be accomplished. The fall, though planned, was not 
compelled/ 1 Man still had his agency, the right and power 
of choice. 

Innocent in the Beginning. — The Great Creator, on 
the morning of creation, pronounced "good" all that He 
had made.* In perfect keeping with this, modern revela- 
tion declares that "every spirit of man was innocent in 
the beginning."-' Consequently, had the spirits of men re- 
mained where they were before Adam fell, they would 
have had no need to exercise a saving faith, no need to re- 
pent or to be baptized, having no evil practices to turn from 
and no uncleanness to be washed away. But they would 
have remained ignorant as well as innocent — ignorant of 
things necessary to their further progress. Without the fall, 
they could have advanced no further, but would have re- 
mained as they were, "having no joy, for they knew no 
misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. . . . Adam 
fell that men might be ; and men are that they might have 
joy."* 



h, Moses 3:17. 

i, Gen. 1 :31. 

j, D. and C. 93 :38. 

k, 2 Nephi 2 :22-25. 



THE GREAT VICISSITUDES. 91 

The Woman Beguiled. — When our First Parents 
partook of the forbidden fruit, it was the woman who was 
beguiled by the Serpent (Satan) and induced to go con- 
trary to the divine command. The man was not deceived.' 
What Adam did was done knowingly and after full 
deliberation. When Eve had tasted of the fruit, Adam did 
likewise in order to carry out another comand, the first that 
God had given to this pair — the command to "multiply 
and replenish the earth."'" Eve, by her act, had separated 
herself from her husband, and was now mortal, while he 
remained in an immortal state. It was impossible, there- 
fore, unless he also became mortal, for them to obey the 
original behest. This was Adam's motive. This was his 
predicament. He was facing a dilemma, and must make 
choice between two divine commands. He disobeyed in 
order to obey, retrieving, so far as he could, the situation 
resulting from his wife's disobedience. Fully aware of 
what would follow, he partook of the fruit of the inhibited 
tree, realizing that in no other way could he become the 
progenitor of the human race. 

Adam and Abraham. — Perhaps some will see a par- 
allel in Adam's case and Abraham's, each being directed to 
do a thing that could not be done unless a previous re- 
quirement were disregarded. Thus, Adam was warned not 
to eat of the fruit of a certain tree — the Tree of Knowledge 
of Good and Evil; yet that was the only way for him to 
reach a condition where he would be able to "replenish the 
earth." Abraham was forbidden to slay his son, after being 
commanded to "offer" him." 



I, 1 Tim. 2:14. 

m, Gen. 1 :28. 

n, Some commentators hold that Abraham misunderstood the 
Lord's command to "offer" Isaac, and that the second command, 
"lay not thine hand upon the lad," was given in explanation. That 
the Lord did not intend Isaac to be slain, is evidenced • from what 



92 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

But there was this important difference in the two 
cases. The second command to Abraham superseded 
the first — canceled it. Not so with Adam. In his case 
the later law left unrepealed the earlier enactment. Both 
commandments were in force ; but Adam could not obey 
both. What was to be done? Why, just what was 
done — the wisest thing possible under the circumstances. 

Malum Prohibitum. — Adam's transgression, though 
a sin, because of the broken law, should not be stressed as 
an act of moral turpitude. In human law> which is based 
upon divine law, there are two kinds of offenses in gen- 
eral, described in Latin terms as malum per se and malum 
prohibitum. Malum per se means "an evil in itself," an act 
essentially wrong; while malum prohibitum signifies "that 
which is wrong because forbidden by law." Adam's trans- 
gression was malum prohibitum ; and the consequent descent, 
from an immortal to a mortal condition, was the Fall. 

A Cause For Rejoicing. — Adam and Eve, with their 
eyes open, rejoiced over what had befallen them/ evidently 
regarding it as part of a beneficent plan to people Earth 
and afford to a world of waiting spirits — the loyal two- 
thirds who "kept their first estate" when Lucifer fell — the 
long looked for opportunity of entering upon their "second 
estate" and beginning the great pilgrimage to perfection. 

No License for Sin. — Let it not be supposed, how- 
ever, that disobedience to divine requirements is or ever 



ensued ; but that Abraham misunderstood the original behest does 
not follow. In order to make the sacrifice of "a broken heart and 
a contrite spirit," and merit the reward of his obedience, it was 
necessar}' that Abraham should interpret the command just as he 
did — as a commandment to slay. "The sacrifice required of Abra- 
ham in the offering of Isaac," says Joseph Smith, "shows that if 
a man would attain to the keys of the kingdom of an endless life, 
he must sacrifice all things" (Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, p. 555). This was 
the principle that Abraham was showing forth, and it must have 
involved a real and terrible trial of his faith. 
o f Moses 5:10, 11. 



THE GREAT VICISSITUDES. 93 

can be justifiable. On the contrary, obedience is the great law 
upon which all blessings are predicated.^ What was done by 
our First Parents in an exceptional instance and for a 
special purpose, constitutes no license for men to commit 
sin. Adam and Eve, having obeyed God's command to 
"multiply and replenish," reaped the reward of their 
obedience. But they had to be punished for their diso- 
bedience in the matter of the forbidden fruit. "The wages 
of sin is death." The fall was necessary, but it had to be 
atoned for: it could not be justified. "The Lord cannot 
look upon sin with the least degree of allowance." He 
can nullify its effects, however, and bring good out of 
evil. Redemption was also necessary, and the Atonement 
preordained ; but this did not make the murder of the 
innocent Savior any the less heinous. The perpetrators of 
that deed were guilty of a crime — the crime of crimes — 
and their punishment was inevitable. Were it otherwise, 
God would not be just, and would therefore cease to be 
God.? 

Fruits of the Fall. — The fall had a twofold direction 
— downward, yet forward. It brought man into the world 
and set his feet upon progression's highway. But it also 
brought death, with all its sad concomitants. Not such a 
death as the righteous now contemplate, and such as both 
righteous and unrighteous undergo, as a change pre- 
paratory to resurrection ; but eternal death — death of the 
spirit as well as the body. There was no resurrection when 
Adam fell — not upon this planet. 

The World in Pawn. — Hell had seemingly triumphed 



p, D. and C. 130:20, 21. 

q, The principle involved in this discussion, is tersely put in two 
lines of a well known hymn, frequently sung in the religious as- 
semblies of the Latter-day Saints : 

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." 

"Earth must atone for the blood of that man." 



94 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

over man's — or rather over woman's weakness. It was as if 
the world had been put in pawn. Death was the pawn- 
broker, with a twofold claim upon all creation. Everything 
pertaining to Earth was in his grasp, and there was no 
help for it this side of Heaven. No part of what had been 
pledged could be used as the means of redemption. Adam 
could not redeem himself, great and mighty though he was, 
in the spirit ; for he was no other than Michael the Arch- 
angel, leader of the heavenly host when Lucifer and his 
legions were overthrown. But that same puissant Michael 
was now a weak mortal man, under the penalty of a broken 
law, powerless to repair the ruin he had wrought. He and 
the race that was to spring from him were eternally lost, 
unless Omnipotence would intervene, and do for them what 
they could not do for themselves. 

Where was Redemption? — Redemption must come, 
if at all, through some being great enough and powerful 
enough to make an infinite atonement; one completely 
covering the far-reaching effects of the original transgres- 
sion. The scales of Eternal Justice, unbalanced by Adam's 
act, had to be repoised, and the equilibrium of right re- 
stored. Who could do this? Who was able to mend the 
broken law, bring good out of evil, mould failure into suc- 
cess, and "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?" Where 
was the Moses for such an Exodus? Where the de- 
liverance from this worse than Egyptian bondage — a 
bondage of which Egypt's slavery was typical? 

The Price Paid. — The life of a God was the price of 
the world's freedom ; and that price was paid by the God of 
Israel (Jesus on Earth, Jehovah in Heaven) who descended 
from his glorious throne, became mortal, and by submitting 
tc death, broke the bands of death, and made it possible for 
man to go on to his eternal destiny. This spotless Lamb, the 



THE GREAT VICISSITUDES. 95 

great Antitype of the Passover, gave himself as an offering 
for sin, and by the shedding of his own blood, paid the 
debt of the universe, took the world out of pawn, and be- 
came the Author of Salvation for all mankind. Christ's 
atonement, offsetting Adam's transgression, brought re- 
demption fromi the fall, nullifying its evil results, con- 
serving its good results, and making them effectual for 
man's eternal welfare. 

"We Know in Part."— Why the Fall and the Re- 
demption had to be, we; know in part, for God has revealed 
it. But we do not know all. That a divine law was broken, 
in order that "men might be ;" and that reparation had to 
be made, in order that men "might have joy" — this much 
is known. But the great why and wherefore of it all is 
a deep that remains unfathomed. Why it was necessary 
to place Adam and Eve in a position so contradictory, 
where they were commanded not to do the very thing that 
had to be done — why the divine purpose had to be car- 
ried out in just that way, is one of those infinite prob- 
lems that must remain to finite minds a mystery until the 
A 11- wise shall will to make it plain. Man cannot sit in 
judgment upon his Maker, nor measure by human stand- 
ards divine dispensations. "All things have been done in 
the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things." 

God's Greatest Gift. — The Fall, though essential to 
human progress, dug man's grave and opened the portal to 
Flades. Redemption unsealed the tomb and swung wide the 
gates to Endless Glory. Adam gave us mortal life. Eternal 
life, our greatest boon, is the gift of the Redeemer and 
Savior. 



ARTICLE THIRTEEN. 
The Gospel Dispensations. 

Only One Gospel. — There is but one Gospel. There 
never has been, and there never will be, another. It is the 
Everlasting Gospel^ the same yesterday, today and forever. 
In order to comprehend it, one must not limit his survey 
o { the subject to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries — 
must not confine his calculations to any one Gospel dispensa- 
tion. He must grasp the idea of a series of such dispensa- 
tions, inter-related and connected, like the links of a mighty 
chain, extending from the morning of Creation down' to the 
end of Time. "Mormonism" stands for the Gospel's res- 
toration in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times; 
but that is not all. It stands for the Gospel itself in all 
the dispensations, as those periods are termed during which 
God, from the beginning, has spoken to man and revealed 
from heaven these saving* principles and powers. 

For All Time and for All Men. — The Everlasting 
Gospel does not belie its name. It is not of any one time 
nor of any one place. Stretching- from eternity to eternity, 
it encompasses past, present and future in its all-embracing 
fold. Neither is it for the benefit of any particular class, 
to the exclusion of other classes. It is for all men, and was 
made simple and plain that all might understand it, that its 
appeal might be universal. No creed comprehensible only 
to a few, no religion that mystifies the many, can by any 
possibility represent Him who died that the whole world 
might live. There is but one Savior, and but one Plan of 



a, Gal. 1 :6-9. 
b. Rev. 14:6. 



THE GOSPEL DISPENSATIONS. 97 

Salvation ; yet that Savior has many servants, saviors in 
a subordinate sense/ and His saving plan encompasses 
many truths, apportioned to the several branches of the 
human family, in measure large or small, according to their 
capacity to receive, and their ability to wisely use the knowl- 
edge meted out to them. 

Sublimest Things are always the simplest. This is 
preeminently true of the Gospel — the simple, sublime Story 
of God. A child can comprehend it; and at the same time 
it is capable of taxing to the limit the powers of the highest 
human intellect. It is the profoundest system of philosophy 
that the world has ever known. All true principles of 
science are parts of it, broken-off fragments of this grand 
Rock of Ages — or, to change the figure, pools caught in the 
hollows and clefts of Time, when' the great flood of Truth, 
during one or more of its earthly visitations, swept by on its 
way back to the Eternal Ocean. All that is precious and 
exalting in religion springs from this ancient source of 
divine wisdom and intelligence. Who knows not this, knows 
not the Gospel. . 

Why Man-Made Systems Endure. — Every form of 
faith that has benefited its believers, must have possessed 
at some time a portion of Divine Truth. That is what per- 
petuated it — not the errors associated therewith. These are 
as cobwebs and dust, the accumulated rubbish of false tradi- 
tion, in which the jewel was wholly or in part hidden. Every 
creed, Christian or Pagan, that has proved a real blessing 
to its votaries, is* as a cistern holding within it waters once 
wholesome and pure, waters that fell originally from 
Heaven in one of those grand spiritual showers called dis- 
pensations of the Gospel, when the flood-gates of Eternity 
were lifted, that the world might be refreshed. 



c, Rev. 14:1, 4; D. and C. 77:11. 

7 



98 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

God's Word Apportioned. — The Book of Mormon 
throws light upon this theme. A Nephite prophet says : 

"Oh, that I were an angel, and could have the wish of 
mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the 
trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry re- 
1 pentance unto every people ; . . . 

"But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I 
ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath 
allotted unto me. . . . 

"I know that he granteth unto men according to their 
desires, whether it be unto death or unto life ; yea, I know 
that he allotteth unto men according to their wills ; whether 
they be unto salvation or unto destruction. 

"Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before 
all men; he that„knowetb not good from evil is blameless; 
but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given ac- 
cording to his desires ; whether he desireth good or evil, 
life or death, joy or remorse of conscience. 

"Now seeing that I know these things, why should I 
desire more than to perform the work to which I have been 
called ? 

"Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could 
speak unto all the ends of the earth? 

"For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of 
their own nation and tongue, to teach his word; yea, in 
wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have." d 

Does that sound as if "Mormonism" takes no 
cognizance of what is going on in the outside world? How 
can any intelligent reader arise from a study of the 
"Mormon" faith, convinced that the- Latter-day Saints are 
not interested in anything beyond the bounds of their own 



d, Alma 29:1-8. 



THE GOSPEL DISPENSATIONS 99 

social and religious system? That one selection from the 
Book of Mormon suffices to refute the false notion. 

Of Their Own Nation and Tongue. — All down the 
ages, men bearing the Priesthood, the authority to repre- 
sent God, have officiated for him and ministered in behalf 
of mankind. And other good and great spirits, not holding 
that authority, but imbued with a desire to benefit and up- 
lift their fellows, have been sent into different nations, to 
give them, not the fulness of the Gospel, but that measure 
of truth and light that they had the power to appreciate 
and put to worthy use. 

Why came Socrates, Confucius, 
Zoroaster and Gautama ? 
Why not Christ alone? 

Truth answers : 
Graded are the Master's teachings, 
Lest come wasteful overflowing, 
With a swifter condemnation 
For indifference or rejection. 
Milk, not meat, for infant palates, 
Spirit babes, though mental giants, 
Unprepared for strong nutrition, 
Ministered by agents mightier.^ 

The Arab and the Caliph. — But spirit waters, like the 
waters of earth, will lose their sweetness and purity, if 
separated too far or too long from their Fountain-head. 
They will become stagnant and unwholesome, like the drink 
carried by the poor Arab in his leathern bottle, from the 
sparkling spring in the desert to the distant palace of the 
Caliph, who magnanimously rewarded the giver, not for 
the rank draught presented for his acceptance, but for the 
goodness of his motive, the sincerity of his soul. 

An Oft-restored Religion. — Man's proneness to de- 
part from God and to mix with the clear precepts of divine 

e, "Love and the Light," pp. 74, 75 



100 A MARVEL AND A WONDER. 

truth his own muddy imaginings, has made necessary more 
than one restoration of the primal and pure religion. The 
Gospel of Christ did not make its first appearance upon 
this planet at the time of the Savior's crucifixion. While 
it seemed a new thing to that( generation, who were "aston- 
ished at his doctrine," in reality it was older than all the 
ages, older than Earth itself. Originating in the heavens 
before this world was framed, it had been revealed to man 
in a series of dispensations, beginning with Adam and ex- 
tending down to Christ. 

The Book with Seven Seals. — Revelation is silent as 
to the number of the Gospel dispensations. But there are 
those — and the present writer is among them — who in- 
cline to the belief that seven is the correct figure; a belief 
partly founded upon the Scriptural or symbolical charac- 
ter of that number, and partly upon Joseph Smith's teach- 
ings relative to the seven great periods corresponding to 
the seven seals of the mystical book seen by John the 
Revelator in his vision on Patmos/ 

The World's Hidden History. — According to the 
Prophet's exegesis, the book mentioned in the Apocalypse 
"contains tha revealed will, mysteries and works of God — 
the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth dur- 
ing the seven thousand years of its continuance or its tem- 
poral existence." Each thousand years is represented by 
one of the seals upon the book — the first seal containing 
"the things of the first thousand years, and the second 
also of the second thousand years, and so on until the 
seventh. "£ The opening of these) seals by the Lamb of God 
signifies, as I understand, the revealing of a Heaven-kept 
record of God's dealings with man upon this planet. 7 * 



\ 



f, Rev. 5, 6, 8. 

g, D. and C. 77 :6, 7, 12. 
h, Rev. 20:12. 



THE GOSPEL DISPENSATION. 101 

Are They Dispensations? — These seven periods — 
millenniums — may or may not be Gospel dispensations, 
periods of religious enlightenment, during which the Plan 
of Salvation and the powers of the Priesthood have been 
among men, alternating with seasons of spiritual darkness. 
But whether or not they be so regarded, it is interesting to 
think of them as covering the same ground, paralleling 
those dispensations, or extending through the same vast 
stretch of duration, and dealing with events and epochs, 
principles and personages, connected therewith. 

Symbolical and Prophetic. — Whatever their number, 
or the names by which they may be properly known, it is 
evident that the Gospel dispensations are inter-related and 
progressive, each preparing the way before its successor. 
Altogether, they represent God's special dealings with man, 
from the beginning down to the end of the world. They 
are also symbolical and prophetic, pointing forward to a 
great and wonderful Consummation, the long-heralded 
era of Restitution, when part will blend with perfect, when 
past dispensations will all be gathered into one — the Eternal 
Present, God's great Today, wherein is neither past nor 
future.* 



i, Alma 40 :8. 



PART FOUR 



A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES 



ARTICLE FOURTEEN. 

The Adamic Age. 

"Dispensation" Defined. — What is meant by "dis- 
pensation." The term has a variety of meanings. To dis- 
pense is to deal out or distribute in portions, as when the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper is dispensed to a religious 
congregation. "Dispensations of Providence" is a phrase 
used to describe the Creator's dealings with his creatures, 
either for joy or sorrow. In theology "dispensation" sig- 
nifies the method or scheme whereby Deity has at different 
times developed his purposes and revealed himself to man. 
As I now use the term, it stands for the opening of the 
heavens and the sending forth of the Gospel and the 
Priesthood for purposes of salvation. It also denotes the 
period of time during which the saving and exalting 
principles thus sent forth, continue operative in pristine 
power and purity. 

The Great Patriarch. — Adam, the patriarch of the hu- 
man family, is over all the Gospel dispensations, including 
the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, which is virtually 
all dispensations rolled into one. Nevertheless, each has its 
own immediate presiding authority, holding the keys of his 
particular period — holding them under Adam, the universal 
head. a 

Distinctive Features. — Each Gospel Dispensation has 
certain distinguishing characteristics, and stands for some 



a, Hist. Ch. Vol 4, pp. 208, 209. In this connection we are told 
that Adam's son Abel holds "the keys of his dispensation ;" that is 
to say, of the First Dispensation, the one in which Abel figured 
(D. and C. 84:16). And yet it is called the Adamic Dispensation, 
for Adam also figured therein. 



106 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

particular development of the Divine Purpose. Thus, the 
First Dispensation presents the following distinctive 
features : 

1. The institution of the Law of Sacrifice, fore- 
shadowing the Atonement that was to be made for the re- 
demption of fallen man. 

2. The introduction and earliest promulgation of the 
Gospel, for which the Law of Sacrifice had prepared the 
way. [| 

3. The initial exercise of the Patriarchal Power, in be- 
half of the whole human race. 

The Law of Sacrifice. — The Lav/ of Sacrifice was re- 
vealed from Heaven soon after our First Parents were 
banished from Eden. God, from whose presence they were 
shut out, spoke "from the way toward the Garden,'' com- 
manding them to "offer the firstlings of their flocks for 
an offering unto the Lord." Adam obeyed, and after many 
days an Angel appeared to him, saying: "Why dost thou 
offer sacrifices unto the Lord?" Adam replied: "I know 
not, save the Lord commanded me." The Angel then said: 
"This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only 
Begotten of the Father. Wherefore thou shalt do all that 
thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent 
and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." 
So runs the sacred story, as rendered by Joseph the Seer.^ 

The Past Obscured. — It is not to be supposed, how- 
ever, that this was Adam's first knowledge of the sacrificial 
statute, concerning which he must have known before it 
was revealed to him in mortal life. Adam was no ordinary 
man. He was a great and wonderful character, and the 
world has not seen the last of him. Undoubtedly he was 
among those who sat in the eternal councils when the 



\ 



b, Moses 5:4-8. 



THE ADAM I C AGE. 107 

Gospel plan was instituted and its mighty Executor chosen. 
Surely he knew about the Lamb of God, already slain in the 
spirit before the creation of the world, and, in Adam's time, 
yet to be slain literally in the .world — an event symbolized 
by the very sacrifice that the first man was offering when 
the Lord's messenger appeared to him. 

But Adam had lost the knowledge of his spirit past. It 
had been temporarily taken from him in order that his 
agency might be free and untrammeled, his conduct un- 
influenced by any recollection of a former experience. 
Hence the need of the Angel's coming to enlighten him, 
and the further need of revelation by the Holy Spirit, 
bringing things past to remembrance and showing things to 
come. 

Acceptable and Unacceptable Offerings. — Adam's 
worship was acceptable to God, for he was in every way 
obedient to the divine instruction ; his offering truly sym- 
bolizing the heavenly Lamb, subsequently foretokened in 
the Feast of the Passover. Abel made a similar offering — 
of the firstlings of his flock; "and the Lord had respect 
unto Abel and to his offering."' 7 

But Abel's elder brother, Cain, who also had been 
taught the Law of Sacrifice, took it upon himself to de- 
viate from the course marked out. Instead of a lamb, he 
"brought of the fruit of the ground" — an offering in nd 
way symbolical of the Savior. His offering was rejected ; d 
for "the ordinances must be kept in the very way God has 
appointed. " e 

The Gospel Introduced. — The way was now prepared 
for the introduction of the great redemptive scheme thac 

c, Gen. 4:4. 

d, Tb. 4:5; Heb. 11:4. 

e, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, pp. 208, 209. 



108 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

was to lift fallen man and open to him the opportunities for 
endless increase and progression. Instead of preaching 
"another gospel," or inventing some new form of ordinance, 
as the misguided Cain might have done, Adam adhered to 
the Gospel in its purity, carrying out to the letter the in- 
structions God had given. He, by his own voice, com- 
manded Adam to believe, to repent, and to be baptized ; 
and, as it is written : "He was caught away by the Spirit 
of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and 
was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the 
water; "after which the Spirit descended upon him, "and 
he heard] a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized 
with fire and with/ the Holy Ghost."/ 

"And thus the Gospel began to be preached from the 
beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from 
the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the 
gift of the Holy Ghost. And thus all things were con- 
firmed unto Adam by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel 
preached, and a decree sent forth that it should be in the 
world until the end thereof, "s 

Seeming Differences Reconciled. — Apropos of that 
ancient decree, I was once asked to reconcile the statement 
concerning it with the idea of a new dispensation. The 
question came to me in this form: "If the Gospel was to 
be 'in the world' from Adam's time "until the end,' what 
was the need of restoring it — bringing it back again?" 

I answered, in substance: "The two propositions do 
not really contradict each other. The Gospel has been in 
the world from Adam's day until now, by a series of dis- 
pensations, reaching through the entire range of human his- 
tory. The gaps between, so wide to us, count for little with 



f, Moses 6:64-66. 

g, lb. 5 :58, 59. 



THE AD AM I C AGE. 109 

Deity, to whom past, present and future are one. /j The finite 
mind is prone to take short and narrow views of things, 
tangling itself up in little quibbling details that often give 
a great deal of trouble. But the Eternal sweeps the whole 
universe with infinite gaze, and what seem mountains 
to men are less than mole-hills in His sight. He has found 
ic necessary, at different times, to withdraw the Gospel and 
the Priesthood from the midst of mankind; and yet, by 
repeated restorations, forming a continuous chain of dis- 
pensations, he has kept the Gospel and the Priesthood in the 
world from the beginning down to the present.* 

Seth Succeeds Abel. — Abel fell a martyr to, the Truth. 
Slain by his envious brother/ he was succeeded by Seth, 
another brother, born subsequently. Seth was typical of the 
Son of God, not only because he was "a perfect man," but 
because "his likeness was the express likeness of his 
father's, insomuch that he seemed to be like unto his father 
in all things, and could be distinguished from him only 
by his age."* 

Adam-ondi-Ahrnan. — Says Joseph the Seer : "I saw 
Adam in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. He called to- 
gether his children and blessed them with a patriarchal 
blessing."' The vision was of course retrospective, hav- 
ing reference to the time when Adam dwelt on earth. The 
same event is more fully set forth as follows : 



h, Alma 40 :8. 

i, It might also be argued that in the spirit World, which is a 
part of the planet that we inhabit, the Gospel has been preached 
for ages ; so that the dead or the departed might have opportunity to 
embrace it (I Peter 4:6). And the withdrawal of the Gospel from 
this temporal sphere would not necessarily involve its withdrawal 
from that spiritual sphere. Thus, the divine edict, that the Gospel 
"should be in the world until the end thereof,' , receives additional 
vindication. 

L Gen. 4:8. 

ft, D. and C. 107:43. 

I, Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 388. 






110 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

"Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called 
Seth Enos Cainan Mahalaleel Jared Enoch and 
Methuselah, who were all High Priests, with the residue of 
his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam- 
ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last bless- 
ing. 

"And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up 
and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, 
the Archangel. 

"And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and 
said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head — a multi- 
tude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince 
over them forever. 

"And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation, 
and notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being 
full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should be- 
fall his posterity unto the latest generation. " m 

Ancient of Days. — But Adam is to come again — is tc 
come as the Ancient of Days, fulfilling the prophecy of 
Daniel." And he will come to the very place where, bowed 
with the weight of more than nine centuries, he blessed 
his posterity before the ending of his earthly career. In the 
valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman^ will sit the Ancient of Days, 
counseling his children — all who are worthy of that high 
privilege — and preparing them for the coming of the Son of 
God. 

A Close Relationship. — I have said that the Gospel 
dispensations are inter-related. It need only be added that 
the mighty patriarchal blessing — the mightiest ever given — 

m, D. and C. 107:53-56. 
n, Dan. 7:9, 13, 22; Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 386. 
o, Gen. 5 :5. 
\ p, D. and C. 116. 



THE ADiAMIC AGE. Ill 

ui which Father Adam forecast the history of the human 
race, taken in connection with his prospective advent into 
the midst of his righteous descendants, upon the precise 
spot where he bestowed his farewell benediction and ut- 
tered his wonderful world-covering prophecy, indicates a 
very close relationship between the First and the Final dis- 
pensations of the Gospel. 



ARTICLE FIFTEEN. 
Enoch and his City. 

"Glorious things are sung of Zion, 
Enoch's city seen of old, 
Where the righteous, being perfect, 
Walked with God in streets of gold. 
Love and virtue, faith and wisdom, 
Grace and gifts were all combined; 
As himself each loved his neighbor, 
All were of one heart and mind." 

"The Seventh from Adam." — Enoch, "the seventh 
from Adam" in patriarchal succession, was contemporane- 
ous with the father of the human family. Indeed, he was 
ordained and blessed by Adam, and was with him in the 
historic Valley where the future of the race was foretold by 
its venerable founder, ! Enoch's period was prolific of 
wonderful events, but the two standing out most prom- 
inently are : 

First : — The successful practice of the Law of Consecra- 
tion, resulting in the founding of Zion, City of Holiness, 
which was sanctified through obedience to that high and 
holy principle, and translated or taken into Heaven with- 
out tasting of deaths 

Second ; — Enoch's vision of the future, extending past 
the Deluge, past the Crucifixion, down even to the Last 
Days and the glorious coming of the Christ. 

The Power of Godliness. — Did the Zion-builder of 
the Adamic age stand at the head of a Gospel dispensa- 
tion? Whether he did or did not, it is evident, from what has 
been revealed concerning him and his ministry, that the 
message of salvation was preached by him in mighty 



a, D. and C. 107:48, 53-56. 

b, Heb. 11:5. 



ENOCH AND HIS CITY. 113 

power and with marvelous success. The world, though 
young", had grown old in wickedness, and the need for 
repentance was urgent/' "So great was the faith of Enoch," 
and so powerful the language that God had given him, "the 
earth trembled and the mountains fled, even according to 
his command ; and the rivers of water were turned out of 
their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of 
the wilderness ; and all nations feared greatly, so power- 
ful was the word of Enoch. " d 

The Law of Consecration. — Among warring nations 
and in the midst of sanguinary strife, Enoch, inspired and 
directed by the Almighty, introduced and established a 
social order which cannot be better described than in 
the simple, sublime pharasing of the Book of Moses, the 
sacred volume just cited : 

"And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were 
of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness ; and 
there was no poor among them."* 

"Zion ?s Fled." — "In process of time" consecration 
brought sanctification, and eventually translation, to the 
City of Enoch, regarding which, after its ascension, wenc 
forth the saying: "Zion is fled."^ 

The Tower of Babel. — The people who built the 
Tower of Babel are said to have done so in order that its 
top might "reach unto heaven." It was to prevent them 
from accomplishing this purpose, that the Lord confounded 
their language.^ Tradition credits Joseph Smith with the 
statement that the "heaven" they had in view was the 
translated city. 



c, Moses 6:27,28. 

d, lb. 7:13. 

e, lb. 7:18. Compare Acts 4:32, 34, 35 ; 4 Nephi, 1:2, 3. 

f, Moses 7:69. 

g, Gen. 11:1-9. 



114 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

The Jaredites. — A righteous remnant of the people, 
namely, the Jaredites, had been exempted from the gen- 
eral curse of tongue confusion ; h and through them the 
pure Adamic language was preserved on earth.* ' The 
Jaredites, divinely led, separated themselves from the 
other inhabitants of the land, and migrated to North 
America. Here they flourished for many centuries, and then 
fell, a slaughtered race, ruined by internal dissension/ 

Translation and Resurrection. — Translation, says the 
Prophet Joseph, does not take men "immediately into the 
presence of God." For translated beings there is a ter- 
restrial "place of habitation," where they are "held in re- 
serve to be ministering angels unto many planets," and 
"have not yet entered into so great a fulness as those who 
are resurrected from the dead." Enoch received from God 
an appointment to minister to beings of this character.^ 



h, Ether 1 :33-37. 

i, Orson Pratt, citing an unpublished revelation, says : "What is 
the name of God in the pure language ? The answer says : 'Ahman.' 
What is the name of the Son of God? Answer, 'Son Ahman, the 
greatest of all the parts of God, excepting Ahman.' What is the 
name of men? "Sons Ahman' is the answer." — Journal of Dis- 
courses, Vol. 2, p. 342. 

;, Omni 1:21,22; Mosiah 8:6-12; 28:17. See also Article Five. 

k, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, pp. 209, 210. 

Commenting upon that passage of scripture, "Others were 
tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better 
resurrection" (Heb. 11:35) the Prophet says: "Translation obtains 
deliverance from the tortures and sufferings of the body; but their 
existence will prolong as to the labors and toils of the ministry, be- 
fore they can enter into so great a rest and glory. On the other 
hand those who were tortured not accepting deliverance, received 
an immediate rest from their labors." He also explains the dif- 
ference between an angel and a ministering spirit — "the one a resur- 
rected or translated body, with its spirit, ministering to embodied 
spirits ; the other a disembodied spirit, visiting or ministering to 
disembodied spirits."- ... Translated beings, "designed for 
future missions," "cannot enter into rest until they have under- 
gone a change equivalent to death." — "The Mediation and Atone- 
ment.' pp. 75, 76. 



ENOCH AND HIS CITY. 115 

The Future Unveiled. — Enoch walked with God, and 
was shown "the world for the space of ; many generations. "' 
He beheld the Millennial Dawn, and the darkest hour before 
the dawn. "He saw great tribulations among the wicked, 
and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled.'" In a splen- 
did outburst of epic poetry, the inspired oracle tells how 
Zion was taken up into heaven ; how Satan "veiled the whole 
face of the earth with darkness ;" how he and his angels 
rejoiced ; how "the God of heaven looked upon the residue 
of the people and wept;" and how the heavens wept also, 
shedding "their tears as the rain upon the mountains." 

Enoch, addressing the compassionate Creator, inquires : 
"How is it that thou canst weep, seeing* thou art holy, and 
from all eternity to all eternity? And were it possible that 
man could number the particles of the earth, yea millions of 
earths like this_, it would not be a beginning to the number 
of thy creations,and thy curtains are stretched out still. 
. . . And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom from 
• all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught 
but peace, justice and truth is the habitation of thy throne ; 
and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end ; how 
is it thou canst weep?" 

The Holy One answers, portraying the impending 
doom, the destruction of the wicked by the Flood, and their 
imprisonment in spirit dungeons until the coming of the 
Christ, bringing deliverance to the penitent.^ 

The Mother of Men. — Enoch hears a voice from the 
depths of the Earth : 

"Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am 



/, Moses 7:4. 

m, lb. v. 66. Compare D. and C. 61 :4-6, 14-19. 

n, Moses 7:26, 28. 

a, lb. vv. 29-31. 

p, I Peter 3:18-20; 4:6. 



116 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When 
shall I rest . . . when shall my Creator sanctify me, 
and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?' 7 

The Creator's Covenant. — "And the Lord said unto 
Enoch : As I live, even so will I come in the last days, 
in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfill the oath 
which I have made unto you concerning the children of 
Noah. And the day shall come that the earth shall rest. 

"But before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and 
a veil of darkness shall cover the earth ; and the heavens shall 
shake, and also the earth ; and great tribulations shall be 
among the children of men. But my people will I pre- 
serve. r 

Another Zion Promised. — "And righteousness will 1 
send down out of heaven, and truth will I send forth out of 
the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his 
resurrection from the dead ; yea, and also the resurrection 
of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to 
sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect 
from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I 
shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up 
their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming ; 
for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, 
a New Jerusalem. 

"And the Lord said unto Enoch : Then shalt thou and 
all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into 
our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon 
their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will 
kiss each other: 

"And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, 
which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have 



q t Moses 7:48. 
r, lb. w. 60, 61. 



ENOCH AND HIS CITY. 117' 

made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall 
rest."* 

Awaiting its Return. — According to these teachings, 
the City of Enoch is now on a terrestrial plane, awaiting its 
return to Earth, when the season shall be ripe and the prepa- 
ration complete for its reception. The change wrought upon 
its inhabitants by translation not being equivalent to resur- 
rection, they will undergo a further change to prepare them 
for celestial glory. The Saints remaining on earth to meet 
the Lord will likewise be changed, not by the "sleep" of 
death, but "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," at the 
time of the Savior's coming.* When he comes, Enoch's 
City will come with him, Zion from above blending with 
Zion from below, as spirit and body in the resurrection. 

The Ancient Types the Modern. — The Ancient Zion 
foreshadowed the Zion of the Last Days, with which it is 
destined to blend." In Enoch's day the Lord's people, 
consecrating to Him their all, became equal in earthly 
as in heavenly things ; and the righteous unity resulting 
from that blest condition brought forth the peace and power 
of sanctity. So shall it be and more when the Lord brings 
again Zion. 



s, Moses 7:62-64. 

t, I Cor. 15:51. 52. 

u, D. and C. 84:99-102. 



ARTICLE SIXTEEN. 

Noah and the Deluge. 

Methuselah, Son of Promise. — God, having shown to 
Enoch the approaching utter destruction of Earth's 
wicked inhabitants, covenanted with the founder of the 
Sacred City that the repeopler of the devastated globe should 
be of his lineage. In order that this promise might not 
fail, Enoch's son, Methuselah, distinguished among men 
as the one who attained to the greatest ag'e in mortality, 
"was not taken" when Zion was translated, but remained 
to become the father of Lamech and grandfather of Noah.* 7 

Earth's Baptism. — The Deluge was Earth's baptism. 
Baptism symbolizes birth or creation. In a certain sense, 
our planet was "born of water and of the Spirit" at the very 
beginning/ In Noah's day, which was reminiscent 
of that beginning, it experienced a rebirth, "a washing of 
regeneration," typical of a spiritual and fiery immersion yet 
to come. 

Like Unto Adam. — It devolved upon Noah to recom- 
mence, after the Flood, the work begun by the great sire 
of the race under God's original command — the command 
to "multiply and replenish the earth." Noah's time, there- 
fore, typified the period of the Creation. He, like Adam, 
"was the father of all living in his day, and to him was 
given the dominion. " d 

The Flood Foretold.— Blest and ordained by Methu- 
saleh when but ten years old, Noah, like his predecessors in 



a, Gen. 5 27. 

b, Moses 8:2-9. 

c, Gen. 1 :2, 9. 

d, Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 386. 



NOAH AND THE DELUGE. 119 

the patriarchal line, was a prophet and a preacher of right- 
eousness. The word of the Lord came to him, saying : 

"My spirit shall not always strive with man; . . . yet 
his days shall be an hundred and twenty years ; and if 
men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them." 
They hearkened not, and God then decreed : "The end of all 
flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, 
and behold I will destroy all flesh from! off the earth. " e 

Shem, Ham and Japheth. — Noah had three sons, 
Shem, Ham and Japheth — naming them in the order usually 
given. Japheth, however, was the eldest, and Ham the 
youngest, of these brothers/ They were among the eight 
survivors of the Deluge ; g "and of them was the whole earth 
overspread." 71 Japheth peopled Europe, Shem Asia, and 
Ham Africa. 

Noah's blessing upon Shem and Japheth, and his curse 
upon Canaan, son of Ham, are thus recorded : 

"Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants shall he be 
unto his brethren. 

"Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall 
be his servant. 

"God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the 
tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant."' 

The Curse upon Canaan. — Part of the curse upon 
Canaan was "a blackness," similar to that which had been 
placed upon "the seed of Cain."-' The curse also deprived 
the Canaanites of the Priesthood ; though they were blessed 



c, Moses 8:17, 30; Gen. 6:3,13. 
f, lb. 8:12; Gen. 10:21. 
t I Peter 3 :20. 
/;, Gen. 9:19. 
i, lb. 9:22-27. 
/, lb. 4:15; Moses 7:8,22. 



120 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

"with the blessings of the earth and' with the blessings of 
wisdom."* 

Ham's sin, which brought the curse upon Canaan — a 
sin vaguely hinted at in the sacred narrative — may not be 
fully known; but even if it were, there would still remain 
the unsolved problem of the punishment of a whole race 
for an offense committeed by one of its ancestors. It seems 
reasonable to infer that there was a larger cause, that the 
sin in question was not the main issue. Tradition has hand- 
ed down something to that effect, but nothing conclusive of 
the question is to be found in the standard works of the 
Church. Of one thing we may rest assured: Canaan was 
not unjustly cursed, nor were the spirits who came through 
his lineage wrongly assigned. "Whatsoever a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap." Or, putting it inversely: Whatso- 
ever a man reaps, that hath he sown. This rule applies to 
spirit life, as well as to life in the flesh. 

Israel and the Gentiles. — From Shem came Abraham 
and the House of Israel ; from Japheth, the Gentiles, found- 
ers of the most civilized and enlightened nations of mod- 
ern times, including Great Britain, France, and the United 
States of America. How wonderfully God has "enlarged 
Japheth," the original Gentile ! 

Israel wields the powers of the Priesthood, and admin- 
isters the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. These are his 
prerogatives. But the children of Japheth also have their 
mission — a mission in statecraft and commerce, in science 
and art, in discovery, invention, and kindred activities. 

It was the Gentiles who discovered and peopled Amer- 
ica : who fought for and won the freedom and independence 
of this chosen land, an event preparatory — though they 
knew it not — to the founding of a government under which 

k, Abr. 1 :26, 



NOAH AND THE DELUGE. 121 

Christ's work might come forth and not be crushed out by 
the tyranny of man. The God of Israel was with Columbus, 
with Washington, with the Pilgrim Fathers, with the pat- 
riots who founded this republic' — Gentiles all, though 
probably of a mixed lineage, having much of the blood of 
Israel in their veins. m He is with all good and great men 
whose hearts are set to do right and to uplift humanity — 
is with them, whether they recognize it or not, and he uses 
them as seemeth him good, to effect his beneficent designs. 

Ham's Descendants. — The descendants of Ham be- 
came eminent, wealthy, wise and powerful in Egypt, "the 
cradle of civilization ;" reaping "the blessings of the earth" 
and the blessings "of wisdom," richly .realizing the heaven- 
inspired promises made to their forebears. They have pros- 
pered also in other African countries. But in Europe, 
America, and other lands, they were long held in slavery. 
Nor are the days of their bondage even now at end in 
Africa and some parts of Asia. The Ethiopian has served 
the Gentile and the Semite, just as Noah predicted. 

Japheth and "The Tents of Shem."— What are "the 
tents of Shem?" In the Scriptures "tent" is a term used 
figuratively as well as literally. The canopy of heaven is 
compared to a tent ; as is also the Church of Christ and 
the city of Jerusalem." The word may therefore be ap- 
plied to a country or a place of sojourn. How Japheth has 



I, I Nephi 13:12-19. 

m, The word "Gentile," as used in "Mormon" writings, is not a 
term of reproach. It comes from "Gentilis," meaning "of ai nation," 
and is used in sacred history to designate the nations not of Israel. 
The Latter-day Saints themselves, are Gentiles in part ; for while 
they claim lineal descent from the Hebrew patriarchs, it is mostly 
through Ephraim, who "mixed himself among the people" (Hosea 
7:8) — that is. among the peoples that have furnished proselytes to 
"Mormonism." As a result of that racial mixture, they also are of 
Japheth's blood. 

n, Isa. 40:22; 54:2; 33:20. 



122 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

dwelt "in the tents of Shem," is partly shown by the his- 
tory of Palestine, Israel's original homeland, long dom- 
inated by the Saracens and Turks — both Gentile peoples 
— and only recently delivered from the Moslem yoke by 
the military power of the British, a racial blending of Ja- 
pheth and Shem. 

Japheth's remarkable blessing has also been realized in 
America, the Land of Joseph, which the Gentiles now pos- 
sess, and where, according to the Book of Mormon, they 
are to assist in gathering Israel and in building the New 
Jerusalem. It is their privilege to share, if they will, in all 
the blessings of the chosen people, and to be even as the 
seed of Abraham.*' 

The Asiatic, and especially the Israelitish countries, 
with North and South America — homes of God's people, an- 
cient and modern, now inhabited by the children of Japheth 
■ — these I think, may be properly regarded as among "the 
tents of Shem." 

As it Was, So it Shall Be. — Noah's period had a 
twofold significance. Pointing backward as well as for- 
ward, it symbolized both the Beginning and the End. The 
reminiscent pointing has already been indicated. The pro- 
phetic import is made plain by the words of the Savior, 
when weeping over Jerusalem and predicting the down- 
fall of the Jewish commonwealth, an event also typical of 
the final destruction of the wicked : "As the days of Noe 
were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be ' 

In Noah's day "a veil of darkness" covered the earth. 
A like condition is to characterize the Last Day, thus foretok- 



o, The delivery of the Holy Land from the Turks dates from 
December 11, 1917, when General Allenby, at the head of a British 
army, entered and took possession of the City of Jerusalem. Sub- 
sequently Herbert Samuel, an English Jew, was made Governor of 
Palestine bv the British Government. 

p, Abr. 2:10. 

q, Matt. 24:37-39. 



NOAH AND THE DELUGE. 123 

ened. r The disaster that overwhelmed the Antediluvians, 
destroying the wicked with water, is to have as its sequel a 
more fearful calamity, in which the unrighteous will be 
consumed by fire from Heaven. And as unexpectedly as 
came the regenerating Flood wherein our planet was once 
immersed, will come the purifying Flame that shall cleanse 
it from all iniquity and prepare it for eternal glory. 



r, Moses 7 :26, 61 



ARTICLE SEVENTEEN. 
Abraham and the House of Israel. 

The Lord's Lineage. — The House of Israel was es- 
tablished in order that the God of Israel, who became the 
Savior of the World, might have a proper lineage through 
which to come, and a worthy medium whereby to promote 
His great and benevolent designs toward the human family. 

"Prince of God." — The name "Israel" means "Prince 
of God," and is first used in the Scriptures as the surname 
of Jacob, from whom sprang the Hebrew nation or the 
Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob, returning from Padan- 
Aram, whither he had fled from the jealous wrath of his 
brother Esau, came to the ford Jabbok, where "there wrest- 
led a man with him until the breaking of day." We are 
left to infer that Jacob believed this "man" to be God ; for he 
"called the name of the place Peniel," saying, "I have seen 
God face to face." 

"Let me go," demanded the heavenly visitant. "I will 
not let thee go," replied Jacob, "except thou bless me." 

The "Man" then blessed him and changed his name 
from Jacob to Israel; "for," said he, "as a prince hast thou 
power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." 

Jacob's Blessing Confirmed. — Subsequently the name 
Israel was confirmed upon Jacob at Bethel, where the Lord 
appeared to him and blessed him, promising that a nation 
and a company of nations should be of him, and that kings 
should come out of his loins. & 

The Father of the Faithful.— But while this was the 
origin of the name Israel as applied to Jacob, it was not the 



a. Gen. 32:22-30. 

b, lb. 35:10, 11. 



ABRAHAM AND THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. 125 

origin of the race of which he is the titular head. It is writ- 
ten that Jacob's wives, Rachel and Leah, "did build the 
House of Israel ; c and build it they did, through their 
children and the children of their handmaids, Bilhah and 
Zilpah, whom they had given to their husband as wives. 
Already, however, had the foundation of that house been 
laid by Jacob's grandsire, Abraham, the Friend of God, the 
Father of the Faithful. Jehovah's promises to Jacob and 
to his father Isaac concerning their posterity, were virtual 
repetitions of promises made to their great ancestor. 

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of 
thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's 
house, unto a land that I will show thee ; and I will make 
of thee a great nation; and I will . . . bless them that 
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee ; and in thee shall 
all families of the earth be blessed. " d 

Definition of "Hebrew." — Abram, for so was he then, 
called, dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, a city of Mesopotamia, 
which signifies "between the rivers." The rivers were the 
Tigris and the Euphrates. Abram had to cross the Euphra- 
tes in order to reach Canaan, the land that the Lord showed 
him. Because of this circumstance, he was called by the 
Canaanites a "Hebrew," meaning "one from beyond the 
river." The origin of the name is also traced to Heber or 
Eber, one of the ancestors of Abram. Mesopotamia was the \ 
fountain-head of idolatry in Western Asia ; and because the | 
Lord wished to raise up a people who would worship him 
and him only, Abraham was required to separate himself 
from his idolatrous surroundings/ 

Meeting with Melchizedek. — Following his arrival in 
Canaan, and a brief sojourn in Egypt, came the episode of 
Abram's meeting with Melchizedek, King of Salem and 

c, Ruth 4:11. 

d, Gen. 12:1-3; Abr. 2:3-11. 

e, Geike, "Hours with the Bible," Vol. 1, Ch, 13. 



126 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

Priest of the Most High God. To him Abram gave a tenth 
part of the spoils that he had taken in battle with certain 
kings/ And Melchizedek blessed Abram and conferred 
upon him the Priesthood.^ 

The Law of Tithing. — This is the first Bible mention 
of the ancient Law of Tithing. "Consider," says the author 
of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "how great this man was, 
unto whom even the Patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of 
the spoils." 7 ' So great indeed, that the Priesthood of the 
Son of God was named for him, and is now called the 
Priesthood of Melchizedek.* 

Abram Renamed. — After this interview with the King 
of Salem, the Lord appeared to Abram, established His cov- 
enant with him, and changed his name to Abraham, which 
signifies, "father of a multiude."- 7 ' 

The Offering of Isaac. — Then followed the supreme 
trial of Abraham's life — the offering, at Qod's command, of 
his son Isaac, an act foreshowing the sacrifice of the Only 
Begotten of the Father, who was to be slain for the world's 
redemption. But Abraham was not permitted to consum- 
mate the act.^ His integrity having been shown by his wil- 
lingness to do as he had been directed, a further mark of 
favor was given by Jehovah to his tried and faithful Friend. 
The original promise, "In thee shall all families of the earth 
be blessed," was now expanded to: "I will multiply thy 
seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon 
the seashore ; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the 
earth be blessed." 



f, Gen. 14:18. 

g, D. and C. 84:14. 
h, Heb. 7:4. 

i, D. and C. 107:1-4. 
/, Gen. 17:3-6. 
k. lb. 22:1-18. 



ABRAHAM AND THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. 127 

Why Was Abraham Blessed? — What had Abraham 
done to merit this high distinction? He must have done 
something. God rewards men according to their works, and 
not even an Abraham would have received from Him an 
honor unmerited. It cannot be that he was chosen for so 
mighty a mission simply for migrating from his own to 
another country, nor even for his willingness to offer up 
his beloved son. As a matter of fact, the original promise 
was given before the sacrifice was demanded. Undoubtedly 
these acts of obedience were greatly to Abraham's credit, 
but how could they be placed to the credit of his posterity, 
the unborn millions who were to inherit the covenant and 
share in the great reward? 

The Problem Solved. — The Patriarch himself helps 
us to a solution of the problem : 

"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the in- 
telligences that were organized before the world was ; and 
among all these there were many of the noble and great 
ones. 

"And God saw these souls that they were good, and he 
stood in the midst of them, and he said : These I will make 
my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, 
and he saw that they were good ; and he said unto me : 
Abraham, thou art one of them ; thou wast chosen before 
thou wast born."' 

The Pre-Existence. — Abraham had been shown in 
vision the spirits of the pre-existent human race, waiting for 
an earth to be made, that they might come upon it and pass 
through a mortal probation. Here they were to obtain 
bodies, thus becoming "souls, " m capable of eternal increase 
and progression. Also, they were to be tested as to their 
willingness to do all that the Lord might require of them. 



/, Abr. 3 :22, 23. Read also verses 24-26. 
m, Gen. 2:7; Moses 3:7, 9; D. and C. 88:15. 



128 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

First and Second Estates. — They who "kept their 
first estate," manifesting fidelity in the pre-mortal life while 
"walking by sight," were to be "added upon" — that is to say, 
given bodies of flesh and blood, with opportunities for edu- 
cation and development. They who kept "their second es- 
tate," continuing loyal during their life on earth, where men 
are required to "walk by faith," with knowledge of the past 
temporarily obscured, would be glorified eternally." All 
were "good," but some better than others; and all were to 
be "added upon," yet not all alike. Some were more deserv- 
ing, some nobler and greater than others; and because of 
their superior merit and larger capacity, they were to be 
made "rulers" over the rest. Abraham was one of these. 

Sowing and Reaping. — Here is exemplified the great 
principle enunciated by St. Paul: "Whatsoever a man sow- 
eth, that shall he also reap." Rewards' and punishments are 
not all deferred until the final judgment at the end of the 
world. There is a judgment passed upon the spirits of men 
before they tabernacle in mortality. Satan and his dupes, 
failing to keep their first estate, were denied bodies/ while 
all the rest, rewarded for keeping their first estate, were 
given bodies, with the promise of a glorious resurrection 
after death. Thus, in a general way, punishment and re- 
ward were both meted out before this life began. 

A question put to the Savior by his disciples : "Master, 
who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born 
blind T ,q — throws out a hint in the same direction. This is 
not to say, however, that all who suffer in the flesh have 
merited their sad fate. There are exceptions to the rule. 



n, Manifestly, the second estate is a greater test of integrity than 
the first, and ought to result, as it does to those who overcome, in 
a far more glorious reward. 
o, Gal. 6:7. 

p, See Article Twelve. 
q, John 9:2. 



ABRAHAM AND THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. 129 

The Savior's case is one of them; and righteous Job's an- 
other. Speaking generally, however, man's conduct in one 
life conditions him in the life that follows. 

Original Excellence. — What had given to Abraham 
his superior standing in the Heavens ? Had he always been 
noble and great? Was it an original or an acquired excel- 
lence, or both ? That there is such a thing as original supe- 
riority, with varying degrees of intelligence among spirits, is 
plainly taught in the Book of Abraham ; r and that all intelli- 
gence is capable of improvement, needs no assertion. 

"I Know Abraham." — When God said of Abraham : 
"I know him,"* it is hardly probable that He was referring 
merely to a knowledge of him in the present life. The found- 
er of the Hebrew nation must have been one of the fore- 
known and predestined, mentioned bjy Paul* and by Alma" 
— must have been among those "called and prepared from 
the foundation of the world, on account of their exceeding 
faith and good works." It was "according to the foreknowl- 
edge of God;" but that foreknowledge, that divine pre- 
science, was based upon experience, and had history as well 
as prophecy for a foundation. Such characters as Abra- 
ham were cast for their parts in life's drama long before 
the curtain rose on the first act of the play. 

A Spirit Israel.- — There was a House of Israel in 
heaven before there was a Hebrew Nation on earth. Else 
what does Moses mean when he tells how the Most High, 
in "the days of old," in "the years of many generations," 
"separated the sons of Adam" and "set the bounds of the 
people according to the number of the children of Israel ?" v 



r, Abr. 3:18, 19. 
s, Gen. 18:19. 
t, Rom. 8:29. 
u, Alma 13 :3. 
v, Deut. 32:7, 8. 
9 



130 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

Ke must have had in mind, not a temporal Israel, unborn 
at the early period indicated, but a spirit Israel, according 
to whose numbers, known in heaven before they had taken 
bodies on earth, the boundaries of "the people" were de- 
termined. 

Privileges and Requirements. — It was intended that 
this chosen nation should have "room to dwell." It was of 
the utmost consequence that a people upon whom rested so 
weighty a responsibility should be well placed, with every 
facility for the accomplishment of the sacred mission unto 
which they had been called. They- were the oracles of God, 
the custodians and dispensers of heavenly wisdom. Upon 
them devolved the high duty of keeping alive on earthly al- 
tars the fires of Divine Truth. They were not to bow down to 
idols, as did the heathen nations around them, but worship 
the true God, the invisible Jehovah, walking by faith where 
others, less worthy, walked by sight demanding to see be 
fore they would believe. They were forbidden to inter- 
marry with other nations, lest they might worship the gods 
of those nations, practice their vices, and corrupt the noble 
lineage through which was to come the Savior of the 
World. The Lamb of God had to be "without blemish," 
and that he was so, physically and in every way, was partly 
due, no doubt, to the choice ancestry and parentage pro- 
vided for him. 

Gem and Setting. — Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant 
in the flesh of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, fulfilled the di- 
vine promise made to those patriarchs, that in their Seed 
should all the nations of the earth be blessed. But in con- 
templating the central fact of the Savior's personal minis- 
try, we must not overlook the related facts that went before 
or followed after. The gem has its setting. Christ re- 
deemed mankind, "treading the wine press alone;" but the 



ABRAHAM AND THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. 131 

House of Israel prepared the way for his coming, and car- 
ried on the work that he began. This is especially true of 
the prophets who foretold his advent, and of the apostles 
who preached the Gospel to Jew and Gentile. There is only 
one Savior, but He has "many brethren," and they are pre- 
eminently "the salt of the earth," the preserving" or sav- 
ing element among men. 

Princes and Servants. — If the name Israel means 
"prince of God" when applied to Jacob, may it not mean 
"princes of God" when applied to his posterity? He was 
promised that kings should come out of his loins. And 
have they not come? — princes and priests and kings, the 
nobility of Heaven, though not always known and appre- 
ciated on earth. The Greatest among them was not rec- 
ognized even by "His own." The wise. Solomon was never 
wiser than when he said: "I have seen servants upon 
horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. " w 
The mighty Prince of Peace, the glorious King of Heaven, 
walked unknown and unhonored by his own servants in the 
dust of his own footstool. 

w, Eccl. 10 :7. 



ARTICLE EIGHTEEN 
Moses and Aaron. 

Joseph in Egypt. — In the whole range of Bible litera- 
ture, if we except what is told of the Redeemer and Savior, 
there is nothing more beautiful than the story of Joseph in 
Egypt. Joseph the dreamer, sold into slavery, exalted to 
a throne, and becoming, by God's design, a savior to his 
father's house. Who cannot see in this a prophetic like- 
ness of the universal redemption wrought out by Him who 
descended below all, that He might rise above all, and de- 
liver the souls of men from spiritual famine and starva- 
tion? 

The Exodus. — Another foretokening of the same sub- 
lime event was Israel's exodus from Egypt, after centuries 
of oppression. Egypt, with its dusky population, devoid of 
priesthood and of gospel light, symbolized the sable bond- 
age of sin and death. Moses, leader of the Exodus, and 
reputedly "the meekest of men," a was a type of the Great 
Deliverer, "like unto Moses," who led an enslaved universe 
out from the Egypt of Darkness into the Promised Land 
of Freedom and Light. 

The Passover. — In commemoration of the Egyptian 
exodus, the Feast of the Passover was instituted, an ob- 
servance designed to perpetuate, in the minds of the chil- 
dren of Israel, their liberation from slavery, and at the same 
time prepare them to comprehend in due time, the mightier 
Redemption thus foreshadowed. 

The Passover was kept as follows : Obedient to God's 
command through Moses, each Israelitish household, on the 



a, Numbers 12:3. 



MOSES AND AARON. 133 

eve of the departure out of Egypt, took a lamb, spotless and 
'"'without blemish," and slew it, sprinking its blood upon 
the posts and lintels of their doors. It was promised that 
the Angel of Death, sent to afflict the cruel nation for its 
mistreatment of the Lord's people, should, while slaying 
the first-born of every Egyptian family, pass over every 
Hebrew dwelling upon which the symbolic blood was found 
sprinkled in accordance with the divine command. Not 
a bone of the lamb was to be broken, nor a fragment of 
it left to decay; for it symbolized the Lamb of God, the 
Holy One, whose body was not to see corruption. 6 Neither 
was any bone of Him to be broken. 

In the Paschal Feast the body of the lamb was spitted 
(transfixt) upon two pieces of wood placed cross-wise, in- 
dicating prophetically the manner of the Savior's death. 
The flesh was then roasted and partaken of with bitter 
herbs and unleavened bread — flour and water hastily mixed ; 
the herbs typifying the bitterness of the bondage that was 
about to end, also the bitterness of death; and the hastily 
prepared meal the hurry of departure.* To further emphn 
size the idea of haste, the members of each Hebrew house- 
hold, while partaking of the feast, were to be clad as if 
for a journey. This solemn ceremonial was observed in 
Israel until the coming of Christ, who fulfilled in his own 
person and experience the poetic-prophetic symbolism. 

The Ten Commandments. — Sacred Patterns. — The 

children of Israel, after their miraculous passage of the Red 
Sea, encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. There God 



b, Psalms 16:10. 

c, The observance thus described suggests Latter-day conditions, 
when, like the plagues sent upon Egypt, terrible judgments are to be 
poured out upon the wicked, so suddenly and so overwhelmingly that 
even "the righteous will scarcely escape," and when the Lord, in 
order to save some, will "cut short his work in righteousness." 



134 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

gave to Moses the tables of stone containing the Ten Com- 
mandments, also the pattern of the Ark or Sanctuary, the 
symbol of the covenant that Jehovah had made with his peo- 
people. He likewise gave the pattern of the Tabernacle or 
holy tent where the Ark was to be deposited, where the 
priest would offer sacrifices and make atonement for the 
sins of the nation, and where the Lord would communicate 
by angels or by Urim and Thummim with the men chosen 
to represent Him in that sacred capacity. 

The Priesthood Organized. — Moses was of the Tribe 
of Levi, and son-in-law to Jethro the Midianite. The Mid- 
ianites were descended from Midian, the fourth son of 
Abraham by his wife Keturah.^ It was from Jethro that 
Moses received the Melchizedek Priesthood/ Thus qual- 
ified, the Israelite leader organized, by divine direction, the 
Lesser Priesthood, with his brother Aaron at its head/ 
Aaron's sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazer and Ithamar, were 
associated with him in the priest's office.^ 

Idolatry and Expiation. — Just prior to their setting 
apart as priests, and while Moses, with faithful Joshua, 
was up in the Mount, receiving the Law and the Testi- 
mony, Israel lapsed temporarily into idolatry. In the gold- 
en calf, which they persuaded Aaron to make for them, 
they worshiped the Egyptian god Apis, or, as Dr. Geikie 
suggests, the ox-headed god of the Asiatics. This sin de- 
manded and received prompt punishment. By command of 
Moses, the tribe of Levi — every man of which responded 



d, Gen. 25:1, 2; 1 Chr. 1:32. 
c, D. and C. 84:6. 

f, Ex. 28:1-3. 

g, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu were probably Elders acting as 
Priests. Such an inference is warranted by the fact that they, with 
Moses and seventy of the Elders of Israel, "saw the God of Israel" 
(Ex. 24:9, 10); which they could not have done with safety had 
they held only the Aaronic Priesthood (D. and C. 84:22). 



MOSES AND AARON. 135 

to his loyal appeal, "Who's on the Lord's side?" — slew 
with the sword three thousand males among' the idolaters. 
The stern expiation complete, the work of organization 
proceeded. 

The Levites. — As an act coordinate with the destruc- 
tion of Egypt's first-born, the Lord had chosen the first- 
born males of all the families of Israel, and had set them 
apart for a special purpose. He now took the tribe of 
Levi, instead, and made of them the sacerdotal class of the 
nation ; a reward, no doubt, for the zeal they /had displayed 
in wiping out the stain of idolatry from Israel. The laws 
of Moses were then promulged and codified, and the sub- 
lime system of heaven-revealed religion was set in motion. 

A Nation on the March. — All being ready for the 
great march Zionward, the Camp of Israel struck its tents, 
and, guided by the Cloud and Pillar of Fire, moved ma- 
jestically through the Sinaitic desert toward the Wilderness 
of Paran. The descendants of Jacob numbered at that 
time nearly three million souls, including an army of half 
a million. They were divided into four camps of three 
tribes each, exclusive of the Levites ; Joseph being twice 
numbered in Ephraim and Manasseh, thus making up for 
the absence of the sacred class from the tribal count. 

Foremost rose alfot the lion standard of Judah, the 
future kingly power, out of which was to come the Savior- 
King- of Israel. Then followed the tribes and armies of 
Issachar and Zebulon, and after them the sons of Gershon 
and Merari (first and third sons of Levi), bearing the 
components of the Tabernacle, which it was their duty to 
set up and take down, as the Camp rested or resumed its 
jcurney. The standard of Reuben was next advanced, and 
immediatelv in his rear marched Simeon and Gad. The Ark 



136 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

then appeared, borne in the very center of the moving host 
on the shoulders of the sons of Kohath. Ephraim and 
Manasseh followed; then Benjamin; the tribes of 
Dan, Ashur and Naphtali bringing up the rear. 

The Camp at Rest. — When the Cloud rested, indi- 
cating their stopping place, the tents were set surrounding 
the Tabernacle of the Congregation; the Levites encom- 
passing it immediately about, to prevent the unsanctified 
from approaching too near, and purposely or inadvertently 
defiling it — an offense punishable by death. When the 
Ark set forward, Moses exclaimed: "Rise up, O Lord, and 
let thine enemies be scattered!" When it rested, he said: 
"Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel!" 

A Period of Preparation. — The Chosen People no 
doubt cherished the hope of an early conquest of Canaan, 
the land which God had given to their forefathers ; a land 
inhabited at the time of the Exodus by various tribes alien 
to Jehovah and unfriendly to Israel. It was a case of hope 
deferred. Had the Lord's people been ready, the carrying 
out of the program of conquest and occupation would not 
have been delayed. But they were not ready, and the event 
was therefore postponed. There had to be a season of 
waiting, a period of preparation. Forty years were to 
elapse before that migrant host, disciplined by insjired 
leaders under strict and wholesome laws, would be in a 
state of preparedness to thrust in the sickle and reap the 
glorious harvest springing from the divine promises of the 
past. 

The Greater Priesthood Taken. — So long as Moses 
lived, both the Melchizedek and the Aaronic priesthoods 
were present and operative in Israel. But with the pass- 
ing of the great leader, went likewise the authority of the 
higher priesthood, without which "the power of godliness 



MOSES AND AARON. 137 

is not manifest to men in the flesh." Nay, without it "no 
man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live."* 
Moses had taught this to his people, seeking- diligently to 
sanctify them that they might behold God face to face. 
"But they hardened their hearts, and could not endure His 
presence. Therefore He took Moses out of their midst, and 
the Holy Priesthood also."' 

John the Baptist. — The Lesser Priesthood, with the 
law of carnal commandments, continued "with the house 
of Aaron among the children of Israel" until John the 
Baptist, in the Meridian of Time, came to "make straight 
the way of the Lord."- 7 ' This same John the Baptist, as 
an angel of God, came also in the Fulness of Times, re- 
storing the Aaronic Priesthood, as a forerunner to the 
Priesthood of Melchizedek, that there might be a prepara- 
tion for the second appearing of the Savior.* 

An Acceptable Offering. — Moses represents the Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood ; Aaron the Aaronic ; and "whoso is 
faithful unto the obtaining of these two priesthoods . . . 
and the magnifying of their calling, are sanctified by the 
Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become, the 
sons of Moses and of Aaron, and the seed of Abraham, and 
the church and kingdom and the elect of God."* Moses and 
Aaron were sons* of Levi, and their sons are to offer 
"an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the House of the 
Lord," which shall be built "upon the consecrated spot" 
"in this generation." Such is the divine promise. 



h, D. and C. 84:19-22. 
i, Tb., vv. 23-25. 
/, lb. 84:26-28. 
k, lb. 13. 
/, lb. 84:31-34. 



ARTICLE NINETEEN $ 

To the Ends of the Earth. 

Calamity's Compensations. — The compensations of 
calamity are apparent in some of the mightiest events that 
history chronicles. The Fall of Man, though it brought 
death into the world, proved the means of peopling a planet 
in accordance with the Creator's design. The Crucifixion 
of Christ, an overwhelming calamity to His terror-stricken 
disciples, who were disconsolate until they looked upon the 
tragedy in its true light, made effectual the predestined 
plan for man's salvation. The Disperson of Israel, that 
heavy stroke and burden of affliction under which God's 
people have groaned for ages, has been overruled to sub- 
serve the divine purpose, fulfilling in part the ancient prom- 
ise to the Hebrew Patriarchs, that in their seed should all 
the nations of the earth be blessed. 

A Martyred Nation. — The history of the house of 
Israel is the history of a martyred nation, suffering for the 
welfare of other nations — whatever may be said of the 
immediate cause of their woes, the transgressions that justi • 
fied the Shepherd in bringing upon his sheep troubles 
that were doubtless among the "offenses" that "must needs 
come." Adam fell that man might be ; Christ died to burst 
the bands of death ; and the chosen people were scattered 
over the world, in order that Gospel truth, following the 
red track of their martyrdom, might make its way more 
readily among the peoples with whom they were mingled. 

Moses Predicts the Dispersion. — Prophecies of Is- 
rael's dispersion were made as early as the time of Moses, 
fifteen hundred years before the advent of the Savior. 



TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. 139 

When the Twelve Tribes were about to possess themselves 
of the Promised Land, their great leader, who was soon to 
depart, told them that so long - as they served Jehovah and 
honored his statutes, they should be prospered and remain 
an independent nation. But if they forsook Jehovah and 
served other gods, He would scatter them among all peo- 
ple, from onei end of the earth even unto the other. 

A House Divided. — Joshua, succeeding Moses, con- 
quered the land of Canaan and apportioned it among the 
Tribes of Israel. A season of prosperity and power was 
followed by decadence and ruin. As early as the days of 
the Judges the people began to depart from God and to in- 
vite by rebellious conduct the national calamity that had 
been predicted. The glory of the reigns of David and Solo- 
mon being past, the curse, long suspended, fell, and the 
Israelitish Empire hastened to decay. The tribes in the 
northern part of the land revolted and set up the Kingdom 
of Israel, distinct from the Kingdom of Judah, over which 
Solomon's son Rehoboam continued to reign. The tribe of 
Benjamin and the half tribe of Manasseh adhered to Judah. 

Ahijah, Amos and Hosea, — Jeroboam, King of Israel, 
made idolatry the state religion. During his reign the dis- 
persion was again predicted, Ahijah the prophet thus voic- 
ing the word of the Lord to his disobedient people : "The 
Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, 
and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he 
gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the 
river." & Another prophet who foretold the same disaster 
was Hosea ; c still another, Amos, who declared that Israel 
should "surely go into captivity" and be "sifted among all 



a, Dent. 28 :64. 

b, T Kings 14:15. 

c, Hos. 7:8. 



140 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

nations. " d Hosea's prophecy substitutes past for future, 
thus : "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people," 
referring to the event in prospect as if it had already 
taken place. Possibly a prophetic vision — then past — had 
apprised this seer of what was coming, or it may have been 
only a figure of rhetoric, common even at the present day. 

"The Wolf on the Fold."— About the year 725 B. C. 
these prophecies began to have their fulfillment. The 
Assyrians came against the Kingdom of Israel and com- 
menced the work of its destruction. In a series of depor- 
tations they carried away the Ten Tribes — nine and a half, 
to be exact — and, as customary with conquerors in those 
days, supplied their places with colonists from other parts. 

The Lost Tribes. — Concerning the deported — the fa- 
mous "Lost Tribes" — very little is now known. Josephus, 
the Jewish historian, who wrote during the first century 
after Christ, states that they were then beyond the Eu- 
phrates ; and Esdras, in the Apocrypha, declares that they 
went a journey of a year and a half into "the north country." 

Scandinavian Cairns. — Missionaries returning from 
Scandinavia tell of rude monuments — cairns or piles of 
stones — yet to be seen in that northern region, and con- 
cerning which tradition asserts that they were erected 
many centuries ago by a migrating people. Whether or 
not these were the tribes of the Assyrian captivity, it is 
interesting to reflect that the rearing of such monuments, 
in commemoration of notable events, was an Israelitish 
custom, particularly as to the migratory movements of the 
nation. The miraculous passage of the Jordan by Joshua 
and the host led by him into the land of Canaan, was thus 
commemorated/ 



d, Amos 7:11; 9:9. 
c, Joshua 4:1-9. 



TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. 141 

Other Ancient Remains. — If it be objected that monu- 
ments built seven centuries before Christ's birth could not 
have lasted down to this day, it will be in order for the 
objector to explain the existence of the perfectly preserved 
monuments of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and other ancient 
empires, whose remains have been uncovered by modern 
achaeological enterprise. Such a theory need not stagger 
the faith of a Latter-day Saint, when he recalls that the 
ruins of Adam's altar are still to be seen in that part of 
the Old-New World now known as the State of Mis- 
souri, where they were identified by Joseph the Seer in 
1838. 

From the North Country. — At all events, it is from 
"the north country" that the lost tribes are to return, 
according to ancient and modern prophecy/ It is also a 
fact that from Scandinavia and other nations of North- 
ern Europe, has come much of the blood of Ephraim, now 
to be found within the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- 
ter-day Saints. 

Isaiah and Jeremiah — -The Babylonian Captivity — 
Returning to the Kingdom of Israel. The prophecies con- 
cerning it were supplemented by other predictions fore- 
telling the fate of the Kingdom of Judah. Those great 
prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, figured during this period, 
and both portrayed in fervid eloquence, unparalleled for 
pathos and sublimity, the impending doom of the Jewish 
nation. Their government was destroyed, and they were 
carried into 'captivity by the Babylonians under Nebu- 
chadnezzar, B. C. 588. 

Lehi and His Colony. — Just prior to that catastrophe, 
and while the Prophet Jeremiah was delivering his fateful ^/ 

f, Jer. 31:8; D. and C. 110:11; 133:26. 



1-12 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

message to king, princes, priests and people, Lehi and his 
companions, ancestors of the Nephites and Lamanites/ 
warned of God, left Jerusalem and crossed over to this 
land — America — which, by them and by Mulek's company 
that came later, was thus peopled with descendants of 
Joseph and of Judah, both represented, though in a de- 
generate state, by the savage red men whom Columbus, in 
A. D. 1492, discovered and named Indians. h 

Jerusalem Rebuilt— Ezekiel and Zechariah. — The 
Babylonian captivity lasted for seventy years. At the ex- 
piration of that period, some of the Jews, under the per- 
missive .edict of Cyrus the Great, who had conquered 
Babylon, returned and rebuilt their City and Temple. 
These, however, were only a remnant, numbering fifty 
thousand, led by Zerubbabel and Joshua. The bulk of the 
nation remained in a scattered condition. The Jews who 
rebuilt Jerusalem were those to whose descendants the 
Christ came, and predicted, after their rejection of him, 
that their "House 1 ' should be "left unto them desolate."' 
Meanwhile Ezekiel and Zechariah — the former in exile 
among the Babylonians, the latter at Jerusalem after the 
restoration — had added their predictions to those already 
uttered relating to Israel's dispersion. 

The Roman Conquest. — Centuries later, in Apostolic 
times, went forth the Epistle of James, with its greeting: 



g, See Article Five. 

h, Mark the features of the American Indian. Are they not Jew- 
ish? Quite as strikingly so, as that many of his traditions and cus- 
toms are Israelitish. Who than the savage Lamanite, better under- 
stands the Mosaic law of retaliation — "an eye for an eye and a 
tooth for a tooth?" Nor cares he to whom the eye or the tooth 
belongs, whether to the person who injured him, or to one of the 
latter's tribe or nation. He is too much of an Israelite to object 
to proxies and substitutes. 

i, Matt. 23 :37, 38. 



JO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. 143 

"To the Twelve Tribes which are scattered abroad." But 
the dispersion, even then, was not complete. There were 
yet to be other painful experiences of the same kind. One 
of the most notable occurred in A. D. 70, when Titus the 
Roman came against Jerusalem, captured the city, and 
sold the inhabitants — such as had survived the horrors of 
the siege — into slavery, or scattered them through dif- 
ferent parts of the Empire. To follow the fortunes of this 
branch of the fated nation in all its subsequent migrations 
and wanderings, would fill volumes. 

What of the Benefits? — Let us now consider the 
question : In what way did these calamities upon Israel 
prove a blessing to the human race? How, by the scatter- 
ing of the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was God's 
promise to those patriarchs in any degree fulfilled, that 
in their seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed? 
Already I have answered these questions in part, and will 
now answer them more fully. 

The Blood That Believes. — Through these acts of 
deportation, enforced exile, and voluntary wandering, the 
blood of Israel, the blood that believes, with choice spirits 
answering to that blood, and no doubt selected for the 
purpose, were sent into those nations where the Gospel has 
since been preached — spirits capable of recognizing and 
appreciating the Truth, and brave enough to embrace it, 
regardless of consequences ; thus setting an example of 
heroism, of obedience to the dictates of conscience, that 
would naturally appeal to the noble and upright surround- 
ing them, and influence them in the same direction. Mani- 
festly, that was of far greater consequence than the carry- 
ing by the captive Israelites of their laws, traditions and 
customs into those nations ; though this also would help 



144 A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES. 

to prepare the way for the wonderful developments thai 
were to follow. 

Rapid Spread of Christianity. — And such things told 
in after years. One of the marvels of history is the rapid 
spread of Christianity in the days of the Apostles, who, 
unlettered as most of them were, and in the midst of the 
fiercest persecution, planted the Gospel standard in all 
the principal cities of the Roman Empire. From Jerusalem, 
the tidings of "Christ and him crucified" radiated to 
Britain on the west, to India on the east, to Scythia on 
the north, and to Ethiopia on the south — all within the 
short space of fifty years/ 



j, Dean Farrar, in his "Life and Work of St. Paul," contributes 
this luminous passage as explanatory of the rapid spread of Christi- 
anity : 

(I) The immense field covered by the conquests of Alexander 
gave to the civilized world a unity of language, without which it 
would have been, humanly speaking, impossible for the earliest 
preachers to have made known the good tidings in every land which 
they traversed. (II) The rise of the Roman Empire created a po- 
litical unity which reflected in every direction the doctrines of the 
new faith. (Ill) The dispersion of the Jews prepared vast multi- 
tudes of Greeks and Romans for the unity of a pure morality and a 
monotheistic faith. The Gospel emanated from the capital of Judea; 
it was preached in the tongue of Athens ; it was diffused through 
the empire of Rome ; the feet of its earliest missionaries traversed 
the solid structure of undeviating roads by which the Roman legion- 
aries— 'those massive hammers of the whole earth' — had made 
straight in the desert a highway for our God. Semite and Aryan 
had been unconscious instruments in the hands of God for the spread 
of a religion which, in its first beginnings, both alike detested and 
despised." 

A similar marvel is the spread of the restored Gospel through 
the Gentile nations of modern times, a work yet in its infancy. The 
proselyting success of the Latter-day Saints on both hemispheres, 
their great pilgrimage from the Mississippi River to the Rocky 
Mountains, the redemption of a wilderness, the founding of a State, 
and the extraordinary attention attracted bv the "Mormon'' people — 
altogether out of proportion to their numbers — these combined facts 
constitute a striking fulfillment of the prophetic oicture drawn by 
the Savior : "Ye are as a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid.'' 



TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. 145 

Many Nations Sprinkled. — How could such things be, 
if Divine Providence had not prepared the way by sending 
the blood and genius of Israel into all nations, prior to 
pouring out upon those nations the Spirit of the Gospel 
and the Gathering? Others before Abraham had shown 
their faith by their works; but this does not disprove his 
claim to the title — "Father of the Faithful." Nor does it 
prove that the blood of faith, wherever found, is not his 
blood. The Moabite maiden Ruth, ancestor of Jesus of 
Nazareth; the Roman centurion, whose faith caused 
even the Savior to marvel; Cornelius and the Woman of 
Canaan — these were not of Israel, by recognized earth- 
ly descent; yet their spirits were well worthy of such 
a lineage, and in their veins was the believing blood with 
which God has "sprinkled many nations. " 



PART FIVE 



IN TIME'S MERIDIAN 



ARTICLE TWENTY. 
The Lamb of God. 

A stranger Star, that came from far, 

To fling its silver ray 
Where, cradled in a lowly cave, 

A lowlier infant lay; 
And led by soft sidereal light, 

The Orient sages bring 

Rare gifts of gold and frankincense, 

To greet the homeless King. 
*> * * 

He wandered through the faithfnless world, 

A Prince in shepherd guise; 
He called his scattered flock, but few 

The Voice did recognize; 
For minds unborne by hollow pride, 

Or dimmed by sordid lust, 
Ne'er look for kings in beggar's garb, 

For diamonds in the dust. 
* * * 
Transfixt he hung — O crime of crimes! — 

The God whom worlds adore. 
"Father forgive them!" Drained the dregs; 

Immanuel — no more. 
No more where thunders shook the earth, 

Where lightnings, 'thwart the gloom. 
Saw that unconquered Spirit spurn 

The shackles of the tomb. 

Far-flaming falchion, sword of light, 

Swift-flashing from its sheath, 
It cleft the realms of darkness and 

Dissolved the bands of death. 
Hell's dungeons burst! Wide open swung 

The everlasting bars, 
Whereby the ransomed soul shall win 

Those heights beyond the stars \ a 



a, "Elias," Canto 3, Part 2. 



150 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

The Crucified and Crowned. — An attempt! to tell, 
even in brief, the sublime story of the Christ, would be 
foreign to my present purpose, Even if space permitted, 
what pen could do justice to the theme? Suffice it that the 
Christ came, in the Meridian of Time, as ancient seers 
and prophets had foretold. Surrendering himself to 
to death, that there might be no more death, He arose from 
the grave and ascended on High, glorified with that glory 
which the Eternal Son had with the Eternal Father before 
this world was formed. 

The Passover Realized. — In the Savior's crucifixion, 
the prophetic symbolism of the Passover had a most re- 
markable realization. In nothing was this more strikingly 
manifest than in certain incidents immediately follow- 
ing the Death on Calvary. The commandment instituting 
the Paschal Feast required that no bone of the, lamb 
should be broken, .and no fragment of it be left to decay, 
representing as it did the body of the Holy One, which was 
not "to see corruption. " fc Mark now the exact fulfillment: 
The Savior had been crucified between two thieves, and 
at sundown on the day of crucifixion the Jewish Sabbath 
began. In order that the day might not be "desecrated," 
the Rabbis prevailed upon the Roman governor to have 
the three bodies taken down from the crosses and buried/ 
When the soldiers went to remove the bodies, finding the 
two thieves still alive, they put an end to them by break- 
ing their legs ; but Jesus was spared this further indignity. 



h. Psalms 16:10. 

r. The hypocrites! They could commit murder, could cause 
the death of the innocent, and feel no commmction : hut thev were 
horrified at the thought of a technical Sabbath-day desecra- 
tion. Could there he a more glaring 1 instance of "straining at a 
gnat and swallowing a camel"? 



THE LAMB OF GOD 151 

he being- "dead already."^' Pierced with five wounds, yet 
not a bone of him broken, the Lamb of God, answering in 
every particular to the likeness of the paschal lamb, was 
laid in the rocky tomb, whence He came forth on the 
third day, his perfectly preserved tabernacle glorified in 
immortality. 

The Lord's Supper. — The night before the Crucifix- 
ion, Jesus, having partaken of the Passover with his dis- 
ciples, instituted in its stead the sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper, commanding them to observe it thenceforth/ The 
Supper, like the Feast, pointed to the Atonement ; but in 
the Passover the pointing was forward to an event that 
had not yet occurred, while in the Supper, for the reverse 
reason, the indication is backward. It is said that dip 
the paschal lamb was offered in the Temple at Jerusalem 
about the same hour that Christ died ; the substance and 
the shadow thus corresponding. Thereafter the Passover 
was obsolete, having fulfilled its purpose, and as the type 
no longer typified, it should have been discontinued. The 
Jews, however, perpetuated the old-time observance, not 
recognizing in Jesus their Messiah. 

"It is Finishd." — The Savior's dying words, as re- 
ported by the Beloved Disciple/ have been the subject of 
much controversy. "It is finished." What did those words 
signify? The notion has been entertained that Christ's 
crucifixion completed his work, so far as; personal ministra- 
tions went, and that after the opening of the so-called 
Christian Dispensation, there was no further need of com- 
munication between God and man. "O most lame and im- 
potent conclusion!" Whatever construction be placed upon 



d. Tolm 19:33. 

r. Matt. 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-20. 

f. Tobn 19:30. 



152 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

that final utterance of our Lord's, it is perfectly clear, from 
what followed, that it never was intended to convey such a 
meaning. 

Birth and Death Incidental. — The Death on Calvary 
was no more the ending, than the Birth at Bethlehem was 
the beginning, of that Divine Career. Both were mere in- 
cidents. The Savior's work is universal, extending from 
Eternity into Time, and back again into Eternity. All the 
Gospel dispensations, from Adam down to Joseph Smith, 
are parts of the all-embracing mission of Jesus Christ. Not 
until "the beginning of the seventh thousand years," the 
Morning of the Resurrection, "will the Lord God sanctify 
the earth and complete the salvation of man. "s Moreover, 
sanctification will be succeeded by glorification, still an- 
other phase of the work of Him who bringeth to pass "the 
immortality and eternal life of man." 

The Sacrifice Complete. — What, then, was "finished" 
by the Death on the Cross? Simply the pain and sorrow 
that the Son of God had willed to undergo, that He might 
ransom a lost creation, and make it possible for redeemed 
man, by faith and good works, to lay hold upon eternal 
life. The Savior's self-imposed humiliation, his voluntary 
sacrifice, his mysterious all-comprehensive suffering, the 
piled up agony of the human race, endured by him vicari- 
ously, to the end that his atonement might be infinite, 
reaching to every son and daughter of Adam* 8 — this was 

X, D. & G, 77:12. 
h, Tb. 19:16-19. 

Such was the mission of him concerning whom Nephi of old 
prophesied: "And he cometh into the world that he may save 
all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffer- 
eth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, 
both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of 
Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass 
upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and 
judgment day." (2 Nephi 9:21, 22.) 



THE LAMB OF GOD 153 

finished, this was at an end; not the work of God, nor the 
continuous revelation of his word and will to man. 

In the Spirit. — While the Savior's body was lying 
in the tomb, his spirit entered Paradise, and there preached 
to the spirits of the departed, opening, or causing to be 
opened, the dungeons of the damned. Returning, He took 
up his glorified body, and appeared in it to his astonished, 
half-doubting disciples. 

On Both Hemispheres. — Christ died for all ; but all 

are not entitled to his personal ministrations. The sheep, 
however, have the right to see their Shepherd and to hear 
his voice. Accordingly, after he had confirmed the faith 
of his Jewish disciples, had chosen twelve apostles, and sent 
them forth to preach the Gospel in the power and demon- 
stration of the Holy Spirit, he visited the Nephites, in 
America, for a similar purpose. They, in common with all 
Israel, had been warned by prophets to prepare for his 
coming; and the righteous were ready to receive him. Al- 
ready they had the Gospel and the Priesthood, and now the 
Savior organized his Church among them. This done, Pie 
visited other broken-off branches of the "tame olive tree," 1 
their whereabouts as unknown to Lehi's descendants in the 
Land Bountiful, as was the existence of the Nephites to the 
inhabitants of Judea. 

The "Other Sheep." — Jesus had said to his Jewish 
followers: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this 
fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice."-'' 
They inferred that He meant the Gentiles; but such was 
not his meaning. His direct, special errand was to "the 
lost sheep of the house of Israel."* The Gentiles were to 



i, Jacob 5 :3. 
/, John 10:16. 
k, Matt. 15:24. 



154 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

be converted through the preaching" of Jewish-Christian 
evangels. l 

The "other sheep" were the Nephites, to whom the 
Savior explained his half-veiled utterance;" 1 also declaring 
that He had still "other sheep," not of the Nephite fold 
nor of the Jewish fold, and that they likewise should see 
him and hear his voice." Undoubtedly this allusion was to 
the "Lost Tribes" ; but not to them alone. It included 
other Hebrew remnants, unknown to man, but known to 
Jehovah, "keeping watch above his own" in the mystical 
and remote regions whither his judgments had driven them. 

In Remembrance of Him. — Both in Judea and in the 
Land Bountiful, the Savior instituted, among those who 
had received the Gospel, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
that memorial of his sacrifice, once prospective, now retro- 
spective ; once a prophecy, now a fulfillment. But its in- 
stitution among the Nephites, unlike its introduction among 
the Jews, was after his resurrection. Concerning the ear- 
lier incident, the New Testament says : 

"As they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, 
and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, 
eat ; this is my body. i 

"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to 
them, saying, Drink ye all of it : 



I Nevertheless, it was all the work of the Lord; for those 
evangels were his servants, his messengers, clothed with his au- 
thority and acting in his name and stead. The subordinate is 
swallowed up in the principal. It is the general of an army who 
wins victorv or suffers defeat, though millions of soldiers nriv 
have been fighting under his direction. The Roman myrmidons who 
nailed Jesus to the cross were not so much to blame for the cruel 
deed, as were Pilate, the Procurator, who permitted, nay, ordered 
it to' be done, rnd the Tewish Rabbis who instigated the "judicial 
murder" of the sinless Son of God. 

m, 3 Nephi 15:21-24. 

n. lb. 16:1-3. 



THE LAMB OF GOD 155 

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is 
shed for many for the remission of sins." 

"The Real Presence. " — After the living- oracles had 
• departed; and only the dead letter of the Scriptures re- 
mained, uninspired "private interpretation"^ conceived the 
"notion that Jesus, when he said, "This is my body" and 
"my blood," meant the words to be taken literally. From 
that erroneous inference sprang the doctrine of transubstan- 
tiation, with its twin heresy, consubstantiation ; the former 
a Roman Catholic tenet, the latter an unorthodox Protestant 
tenet relating to the Eucharist. So insistent was the Catholic 
Church upon this point, that men and women were con- 
demned and punished as heretics, for denying "the real 
presence," the actual flesh and blood of Christ, in the ele- 
ments of the Lord's Supper.^ 

Figurative, not Literal. — The language of Jesus, 
when he instituted the Lord's Supper at Jerusalem, was un- 
doubtedly figurative. When He said, of the bread and wine, 
"This is my body" and "my blood," his body was intact, his 
spirit in his body, and his blood yet unsplit. He was there 
in person, whole, complete. This being the case, how could 
he have meant to identify the bread and wine with the 
constituents of his mortal tabernacle? "These are the em- 
blems of my body and blood" — that was his meaning. He 
made this clear to the Nephites, in saying: "This shall 
ye do in remembrance of my body." Remembrance presup- 
poses absence. Because he would be absent in body there- 
after, they were to do this "in remembrance of" his body. 
What need to remember him, if he were present in person ? 



o, Matt. 26:26-28. Compare 3 Nephi 18:1-7. 
p, 2 Peter 1:20. 

q, A fact sufficient, of itself, to show that the Church was in an 
apostate condition. 



156 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

As well require faith from one having a perfect knowledge.'' 

Use of Wine Forbidden. — The Latter-day Saints have 
been criticized for using water in the Sacrament; 
the Savior having sanctioned the use of wine both among 
the Jews and the Nephites. The explanation for the change 
is simple. The Church of Christ is not dependent upon' 
books, nor upon tradition. It has an inspired Priesthood, 
led by immediate, continuous and direct revelation. The 
Lord has commanded his people in these days not to use 
wine in the Sacrament under existing conditions. This is 
the word they are under obligation to obey — not the word 
given to other peoples in former dispensations/ 

Christ to Come Again. — Neither the Savior's resur- 
rection, nor his ascension into Heaven* signalized the end of 
his personal ministry, the cessation of his labors in behalf of 
mankind. After his resurrection, He "went in body to min- 
ister to translated and resurrected bodies ;" u and with these 
He will return when Enoch's City descends and all is 
ready for his glorious advent. 



r, Too much reliance upon either the literal or the figurative in 
language, is apt to be misleading. An attendant in an art gallery 
or other public place where statues or paintings are on exhibit, 
might point out one and say to the visitor : "That is Caesar" or 
"That is Washington;" but the one addressed would not be 
likely to infer that Caesar or Washington was there in actual 
flesh and blood, or that the attendant meant to be so understood. 
Nor would the visitor need to be told, that the statue or the paint- 
ing represented the original. Such an explanation would be super- 
fluous. The form of the Savior's instruction on the Sacrament — as- 
suming that the correct translation has come down to us — may be 
accounted for in like manner. He knew that his disciples would 
understand him — and they did. They were not dependent upon 
the letter alone; the interpreting Spirit was with them to give 
it life. 

s, D. & C. 27:2-5. 

t, Acts 1:10, 11. 

u, "Mediation and Atonement," p. 76, 



ARTICLE TWENTY-ONE. 

The Special Witnesses. 

The Men Who Knew. — The Twelve Apostles were 
the special witnesses of Jesus Christ. As such they had 
to know, not merely believe that he had risen from the 
dead. And they did know, for they had seen him, and heard 
him, and had even been permitted to touch him, that ihey 
might be convinced beyond all question that he was indeed 
what he proclaimed himself — the Author of the Resurrec- 
tion, the Giver of eternal life. It was their right to re- 
ceive this rare evidence, owing to the unique character of 
their mission. But the world was required to believe what 
the Apostles testified concerning Him. If men desired sal- 
vation, which could come only through the Savior, they 
must receive in faith the message He had sent his servants 
to deliver. 

The Case of Thomas. — One of the Twelve was absent 
when his brethren received their first visitation from the 
risen Redeemer; and when they said, "We have seen the 
Lord," he answered: "Except I shall see in his hands the 
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the 
nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." 
Subsequently the Savior appeared to this Apostle (Thomas) 
saying: "Behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, 
and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but be- 
lieving." "My Lord and my God!" exclaimed the doubter 
— and was convinced. 

Complete Qualification. — Thomas has been censured 
for demanding to see and to feel before he would believe. 



a, John 20: 24-28. 



158 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

How much blame attaches to him for doubting, I will not 
presume to say. But this much seems clear: He had the 
same right as the rest of the Twelve to a personal appear- 
ing of the Lord — the right to come in contact with Him 
of whose resurrection he was required to testify. The others 
had seen and heard — perhaps had even felt, for Jesus of- 
fered them that privilege. 6 Why should not Thomas 
share in the experience? What else could completely 
qualify him as a special witness? 

A Peculiar Position. — Sign-seeking is an abomination, 
indicating an adulterous disposition/ It is blessed to believe 
without seeing, a since through the exercise of faith comes 
spiritual development ; while knowledge, by swallowing up 
faith, prevents its exercise, thus hindering that develop- 
ment. "Knowledge is power;" and all things are to be 
known in due season. But premature knowledge — knowing 
at the wrong time — is fatal both to progress and to hap- 
piness. The case of the Apostles was exceptional. They 
stood in a peculiar position. It was better for them to 
know — nay, absolutely essential, in order to give the requi- 
site force and power to their tremendous testimony. 

The Commission of the Twelve. — "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. 

"He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but 
he that believeth not, shall be damned. 

"And these signs shall follow them that believe : In 
my name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak with 
new tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and if they drink 
any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay 
hands on the sick, and they shall recover."* 



b, Luke 24:39. 

c, Matt. 16:4. 

d, John 20:29. 

e, Mark 16:15-18. 



THE SPECIAL WITNESSES 159 

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost; 

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world. Amen."/' 

The Promised Signs. — Thus we see that certain 
miraculous "signs" were promised to "them that believe." 
But these signs were intended to comfort the Saints, not to 
encourage the sign-seeker; and they were to "follow," not 
precede, belief. It is not the sign, but the seeking, that the 
Lord deprecates, the motive being evil/ 

Apostolic Activities. — Obedient to the divine man- 
date, the Apostles at Jerusalem, having been "endued with 
power from on high" /f went forth with their fellows, preach- 
ing "Christ and him crucified," calling upon men to be- 
lieve, to repent, and have their sins remitted by baptism, 
that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Great 
power accompanied their ministrations. Within the next 
half century the glad tidings borne by them had spread 
over the whole Roman Empire and into barbarian realms 
beyond. 

Equality and Unity. — The Apostles must have known 
of Enoch's wonderful work. Jude refers to Enoch's 



f, Matt. 28:19, 20. 

g, Says the Prophet Joseph : "When I was preaching in 
Philadelphia, a Quaker called out for a sign. I told him to be 
still. After the sermon he again asked for a sign. I told the 
congregation that the man was an adulterer; . . . that the Lord 
had said to me in a revelation that any man who wanted a sign 
was an adulterous person. 'It is true,' cried one, 'for I caught him 
in the very act,' which the man afterwards confessed when he was 
baptized." (Hist. Ch. Vol. 5 p. 268). More than one "Mormon" mis- 
sionary, pestered by sign-seekers, has applied the test furnished by 
the Prophet, with invariable and complete success. 

h, Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-4. 



160 IN TIME'S MERIDIAN. 

prophecy of the Lord's coming "with ten thousand of his 
saints." • Possibly the Twelve hag 1 access to the Book of 
Enoch/ one of the lost books of Scripture. At all events, 
they sought to introduce, among the earliest proselytes to 
the Christian faith, a similar order to that established in 
Enoch's day. Concerning the later attempt to "bring forth 
Zion." it is written: 

"And the multitude of them that believed were of one 
heart and of one soul ; neither said any of them that aught 
of the things which he possessed was his own; but they 
had all things common. . . . 

"Neither was there any among them that lacked; for 
as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them 
and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 

"And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distri- 
bution was made unto every man according as he had 
need'."* 

How long this condition lasted with the Jewish Saints, 
we are not told. Among their contemporaries, the Nephite 
followers of Christ, the splendid results flowing from the 
practice of the Law of Consecration are thus portrayed : 

"The people were all converted unto the Lord, upon 
all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and 
there were no contentions and disputations among them, 
and every man did deal justly, one with another; 

"And they had all things common among them, there- 
fore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they 
were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."' 

The Apostles Taken. — One by one the Apostles were 
taken. James was slain with the sword at Jerusalem. Peter, 



i, Jude 14. 
j, D. & C. 107:57. 
k, Acts 4:32, 34, 35. 
/, 4 Nephi 1 :2,3. 



THE SPECIAL WITNESSES 161 

if the tradition be trustworthy, was crucified at Rome, where 
Paul likewise suffered martyrdom, by decapitation. All 
were put to death, save one, concerning whom Peter had 
inquired of the Lord : " What shall this man do ?" And the 
Lord had said: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what 
is that to thee?" "Then went this saying abroad among 
the brethren ; that that disciple should not die." m 

John Tarries. — Modern revelation confirms the an- 
cient tradition that John the Beloved did not taste of death, 
but obtained from the Lord a promise that he should re- 
main in the flesh, fortified against disease and dissolution, 
and do a wondrous work. He was to "prophesy before na- 
tions, kindred, tongues and peoples, and continue on earth 
until the Lord came in his glory." n It is traditional that 
an attempt was made upon John's life by throwing him into 
a cauldron of boiling oil ; but he escaped miraculously. 

A Falling-Away Foreseen. — In the ninety-sixth year 
of the Christian era this Apostle was on the Isle of Patmos, 
in the Aegean Sea, Patmos served the Romans very much 
as Siberia has since served the Russians. To that desolate 
place the Empire banished its criminals, compelling them 
to work m the mines. John was an exile for Truth's 
sake. But the Lord had not forgotten his servant, though 
men had rejected him and cast him out. The Heavens were 
opened to him, and he was shown things that would come 
to pass thereafter, also events that were even then taking 
place. He beheld the sad spectacle of a paganized Christen- 
dom, the "falling away" that St. Paul had predicted. 6 

Restoration and Judgment. — But John also looked 
forward to a time when the pure Christian faith would 
be restored; when an Angel would "fly in the midst of 

^7 John 21 :20-23. 

n, D. & C. 7. 

o;8. Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. Chaps. 17, 18. 



162 IN TIMES MERIDIAN. 

heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them 
that dwell on the earth ; ,,p when Israel would be called out 
from the nations ; q when the hour of God's judgment would 
come, and the dead, small and great, would stand before 
the Great White Throne, to give answer for the deeds done 
in the body/ 

Among the Nephites. — The experience of the Church 
of Christ on the Western continents was in many respects 
a duplicate of its experience in Oriental lands. Here as 
well as there, special witnesses were -chosen/ and to three of 
the Nephite Twelve, Christ gave the same promise that he 
had given to the Apostle John — a promise that they should 
remain in the body, not subject to death, and bring souls to 
Him.* 

A Foretaste of the Millennium. — The Nephite Church 
had a marvelous career — even more marvelous than had 

the Jewish Church. "The people were all converted unto 
the Lord," and for two full centuries" a social condition 

similar to that which had characterized Enoch's ancient 
commonwealth, was the favored lot of this flourishing 
branch of the House of Israel. It was a foretaste of the 
Millennium, a foreshadowing of the great Day of Peace. 

Japheth Smites Jacob. — Then came pride, the beset- 
ting sin of the Nephite nation, with class divisions, envyings, 
covetousness, strife, and — for the civilized portion of the 
once delightsome people — extermination. Darkened in body 
and in mind, the degenerate Lamanites were left to meet the 
on-rolling tide of over-seas immigration, and be over 



p, Rev. 14:6. 
q s lb. 18:4. 
v, lb. 20:11, 12. 
s, 3 Nephi 19:4. 
t, lb. 28 :4-23. 
w, 4 lb. 1 :22. 



THE SPECIAL WITNESSES 163 

whelmed thereby; "a remnant of Jacob," to be smitten and 
driven by the children of Japheth, "until the times of the 
Gentiles were fulfilled." 27 



v f Though tramped upon for many generations, the Lamanites 
are not a dying race, as is generally supposed. According to 
Doctor Lawrence W. White, of the Unites States Indian Bureau, the 
Indian population in 1870, when the first reliable census was made 
by the bureau, was placed at 313,712. It is now 333,702, a num- 
ber not exceeded, thinks that expert, by the total of aborigines 
in America at the time of its discovery by Columbus. — See edi- 
torial article, "Indians Reviving," Salt Lake Tribune, February 
13, 1920. 



PART SIX 



THE ERA OF RESTITUTION. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO. 
The Call of the Shepherd. 

"Come Out of Her, My People." — The Dispersion of 
Israel has for its complement the Gathering of Israel ; the 
prophets who predicted the one likewise foretelling the other. 
The Savior's personal visits to the various branches of the 
Israelitish race, before or after His resurrection, were pro- 
phetic of a general restoration of the Lord's people to their 
ancient lands, and the folding of the scattered sheep into one 
great flock, with him as the Shepherd over all. a 

Prophecies of the Gathering. — The more notable of 
the Hebrew prophecies pertaining to the Gathering are as 
here given : 

Isaiah. — "And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, 
and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather to- 
gether the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of' the 
earth." . . . 

"They shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines to- 
ward the West." ... 

"And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left, from Assyria ; like as it was to 
Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." 6 

a, John 10:16; 3 Nephi 15:21; 16:1-3; 21. 

b, Isa. 11:12, 14, 16. See r.lso 5:26; 35:10; 43:5, 6. The same 
Prophet declares : 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the moun- 
tains and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall 
flow unto it. 

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up 
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; 
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : 
for out of Zion shall ro forth the law, and the word of the Lord 
from Jerusalem." (Isa. 2:2,3.) 

This prophecy, however, seems to refer, not so much to a gath- 
ering of Israel, as to an Israel already gathered, unto whom 
the nations will come to learn the wavs of the Lord. 



168 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

Jeremiah. — "I will take you one of a city, and two of 
a family, and I will bring you to Zion." . . . 

"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 
it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought 
up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; 

"But, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of 
Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands 
whither he had driven them; and I will bring them again 
into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, 
and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many 
hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and 
from every hill, anc| out of the holes of the rocks." . . . 

"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and 
gather them from the coasts of the earth. . . . 

"For I am a father to Israel, and Elphraim is my 
first born. 

"Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare 
it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel 
will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his 
flock."' 

Jesus Christ. — "And again this gospel of the king- 
dom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto 
all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction 
of the wicked." rf 

"And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a 
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the 
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."* 

The Savior also predicted to the Nephites the gathering 



c, Jer. 3:14; 16: 14-16; 31:8-10. 

d, Matt. 24:31, as rendered by Joseph the Seer, Pearl of Great 
Price, p. 78. 

e, lb. Bible, King James' version. 



THE CALL OF THE SHEPHERD 169 

of the House of Israel •/ and John the Revelator foresaw the 
same event in his great vision on Patmos / 

The Realization. — How marvelously and how rapidly 
these predictions are being fulfilled, the history of the past 
hundred years plainly tells. The Angel with the Everlasting 
Gospel has flown from heaven to earth, and the message 
borne by him is being preached "again" m\ all the world, as 
a final witness to the nations. 

' Isaiah's reference to the setting up of an Ensign for 
Israel's gathering finds its fulfilment in the restoration of 
the Gospel and the Priesthood, and in the organization of 
the Church of Christ in this dispensation. h Then and there 
was raised a rallying standard for the sons and daughters 
of Ephraim, the first scions of Jacob's household to be 
"born again," to embrace the ancient faith in modern times 
— the first of the broken off branches of Israel's "olive 
tree" to be "grafted in again" and bear good fruit.* 

Keys of the Gathering Restored. — Before there could 
be a complete gathering of the chosen people, the Keys 
of the Gathering had to be restored. Accordingly, when 
the time was ripe, they were conferred upon the founder 
of the Latter-day Church. Moses, who held those keys at 
the time of the Exodus from Egypt, was the messenger 
who now restored them. The place of restoration was the 
Kirtland Temple; the time, April, 1836. Joseph Smith and 
Oliver Cowdery testify that "the veil" was taken from 
their minds, and they "saw the Lord," even Jehovah, who 
proclaimed to them his identity with the Savior of Man- 
kind. The record then continues: 



f, 3 Nephi 21. 

g, Rev. 14:16; 18:4. See also Deut. 33:17; Psalms, 50:5; Ezek. 
34-12-14 

'}%, D.'& C. 115:4, 5; 45:9; 64:42. 
i, Jacob 5 and 6. 







170 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

"After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened 
unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto 
us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts 
of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land 
of the north. "i 

First Latter-day Saints. — Then began the great work 
for which these keys had been restored. All preceding it 
was but preparatory. "Mormonism's" first converts had 
been made in the region where the Church arose — the farm- 
ing districts of Western New York and Northern Pennsyl- 
vania. But Kirtland, Ohio, was the cradle of the Kingdom. 
There a Temple was built, and the Priesthood more per- 
fectly organized, preliminary to the sending of the Gospel to 
foreign nations, and the gathering of scattered Israel to the 
Land of Zion. Up to the summer of 1837 the "fishers of 
men" were busy only in the United States and in Canada. 
Now they crossed over to the British Isles, and later 
to the continent of Europe. Instant and marvelous was 
their success. In parts of England — notably Lancashire and 
Herefordshire — whole villages and congregations were 
swept into the Church by the unlettered yet divinely empow- 
ered Apostles of the new dispensation. k 

Earliest Immigrants. — A small company of Latter- 
day Saints, numbering but forty-one — the first to "gather" 
from abroad — sailed on the ship "Britannia" from Liver- 
pool for New York, in June, 1840. They were bound for 
Nauvoo, Illinois. Each succeeding year added its quota to 
the fast growing nucleus of the Savior's kingdom. Thus was 



/, D.&C. 110:1-4, 11. 

k, Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve, was placed at the head 
of the first foreign mission. He was accompanied by Orson Hyde, 
Willard Richards, and other Elders. Subsequently another apos- 
tolic misson, headed by Brigham Young and including a majority 
of the Twelve, carried the Gospel to all parts of the British Isles. 



THE CALL OF THE SHEPHERD 171 

set in motion the mighty tide of immigration which, swelling 
the numbers of the Saints in the Mississippi Valley, even- 
tually peopled with the skilled mechanics and hardy yeo- 
manry of Great Britain, Scandinavia and other European 
countries, the mountains and valleys of the Great West. 

The Impelling Motive. — How different the motives * 
impelling these people, from the motives generally imputed 
to them ! It was not for gold and silver, flocks and herds, 
nor any of "the good things of this world," that they for- 
sook home and country and "gathered" to the Land of 
Zion. It was not to better their temporal condition, that they 
abandoned comfort and in some cases affluence, crossed the 
stormy ocean, dragged rickety hand-carts over parching 
plains and snow-capt mountains, to settle in a barren wilder- 
ness and endure hardships and privations innumerable, while 
redeeming the waste and dotting it with cities, farms and 
vineyards. It was for God and his Kingdom — nothing less ; 
and it was the love of Truth that inspired and impelled 
them.* 

Character of the Saints, — Utah's early settlers were 
stigmatized as ignorant and malicious. It, was ignorance or 



I, I was once asked by a gentleman, friendly to the Latter-day 
Saints, why they did not co-operate with the millionaire philanthro- 
pists who have endeavored in recent years to place upon arid lands 
poor Jews taken out of large cities ; but whose efforts, owing to inex- 
perience in such enterprises, have been more or less futile. My ques- 
tioner thought a copartnership between such capitalists and such col- 
onists — one to furnish the money, the other the knowledge and skill 
necessary for the undertaking — might work a splendid result. He 
added with unction : "Ycu could stipulate, you know, that every 
Jew thus colonized should become a Mormon — and just think how 
that would build up your Church !" 

The intent was serious, but the effect was to amuse. It sug- 
gested the Shakespearean court scene, where the Venetian Duke de- 
cides that the Jew Shylock, as part of his punishment for seeking 
the life of Antonio, shall "presently become a Christian." ("Merchant 
of Venice," Act 4. Scene 1). As if Christians could be made by 
judicial decisions or "Mormons" by contracts for colonization. 



172 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

malice that so stigmatized them. "Scum of the earth," "off- 
scourings of civilization," were some of the pet names be- 
stowed upon them by their enemies. How utterly unjust 
these epithets, how grotesquely misapplied, everyone must 
know who has any knowledge of the facts. In reality, they 
• were among the best men and women of their time. Many 
of them were descended from the Pilgrims and the Patriots 
who founded this nation, and in their veins, as Children of 
the Covenant, flowed the blood of priests and kings, il- 
lustrious through a thousand generations." 2 

These modern Zion-builders were not among those who 
wait for a cause to become popular before embracing it. 
Lowell little realized how admirably he was painting their 
portrait when he penned these lines: 

Then to side with Truth is noble, 

When we share her wretched crust, 
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, 

And 'tis prosperous to be just. 
Then it is the brave man chooses, 

While the coward stands aside, 
Doubting in his abject spirit 

Till his Lord is crucified, 
And the multitude make virtue 

Of the faith they had denied. 
* * * 
They are slaves who fear to speak 

For the fallen and the weak; 
They are slaves who will not choose 

Hatred, scoffing and abuse, 



m, Talent and genius, brain and brawn, from every part of the 
world came in the early immigrations to Salt Lake Valley — farm- 
ers, laborers, tradesmen, mechanics, merchants, manufacturers and 
business men, with a liberal sprinkling of artists, musicians, writers 
and other professional people. "In their degree the pick and flower 
of England," was the comment passed upon a ship's company of 
"Mormon" emigrants, by Charles Dickens, the great English author, 
in his sketch "The Uncommercial Traveler," published in 1863. 



THE CALL OF THE SHEPHERD 173 

Rather than in silence shrink 

From the truth they needs must think ; 

They are slaves who dare not be 
In the right with two or three. 

Not slaves, but free men and free women, founded the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were 
of the sheep that knew the Shepherd's voice, and when 
put to the test, they showed "the mettle of their pasture." 

"One of a City and Two of a Family." — Jeremiah's 
prediction was uttered at a time when families (tribes) 
were much larger than they now are — large enough for 
one tribe to fill several cities." Otherwise, the prophet 
might have changed his wording to read: "One of a family 
and two of a city." Phrased either way, the forecast has 
been literally fulfilled in the painful and pathetic expe- 
riences of many Latter-day Saints, including women and 
children, turned out-of-door by parents or guardians, for 
daring to be "one of a city" or "two of a family," in iden- 
tifying themselves with a people everywhere "spoken 
against." 

"The Shoulders of the Philistines." — This phrase 
translates itself into the facilities for far and rapid trans- 
portation owned and operated by the Gentiles, but utilized 
by the God of Jacob in bringing his people from foreign 
shores, and up into the tops of "the high mountains of 
Israel. "^ "They shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philis- 
tines toward the West." When Isaiah wrote those words, he 
was gazing with prophetic eye upon this very period. He be- 
held the ships and railroads of the Gentiles, likewise the 
Land of Zion, now occupied! by the Gentiles, hut for- 
merly peopled by the Nephrites (Joseph and Judah) and in- 



n, Joshua 21 :41. 
o, Acts 28:22. 
». Ezek. 34:14. 



174 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

eluded in the lands that God gave to their forefathers.* 
Israel needs the help of the Gentiles — their wealth, their 
power, their wonderful insight into and command bver 
material things, their intelligence and skill in manipulating 
temporalities. How, without the children of Japheth, could 
the children of Jacob be gathered out from the nations ? r 

The Lost Tribes, — It is maintained by some that the 
lost tribes of Israel — those carried into captivity about 725 
B. C. — are no longer a distinct people ; that they exist only 
in a scattered condition, mixed with the nations among 
which they were taken by their captors, the conquering 
Assyrians. If this be true, and those tribes were not intact 
at the time Joseph and Oliver received the keys of the 
gathering, why did they make so pointed a reference to 
"the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north?" 
This, too, after a general allusion to "the gathering of Israel 
from the four parts of the earth." What need to par- 
ticularize as to the Ten Tribes, if they were no longer a 
distinct people? And why do our Articles of Faith give 
those tribes a special mention ?* 



q, Jer. 16:15; Deut. 33:13-16; Gen. 49:22-26. 

r, The work is too vast, too arduous, for any one ' people to 
accomplish, particularly a people who are a mere handful among 
earth's teeming millions. God, not man, is doing this work, and 
He is not limited in his choice of instruments to his own covenant 
people. All men, all nations, knowingly or unknowingly, are play- 
ing into his hands. 

s, The fact that Arctic explorers have found no such people at 
the North Pole — where some theorists have persisted in placing 
them — does not prove that the "Ten Tribes" have lost their iden- 
tity. It was tradition, not revelation, that located them at the 
North Pole. "The north country," "The land of the north," 
these are the scriptural designations of their unknown abode. All 
the rest is inference. Those tribes could still be intact, and yet 
much of their blood be found among the northern nations. Some 
of the pilgrims might easily have mixed with the people encountered 
by them while journeying toward their ultimate destination; and 
that Ephraim did so mix, Hosea the Prophet (7:8) declares. 



THE CALL OF THE SHEPHERD 175 

The "Highway." — Isaiah's reference to the "High- 
way" points directly to the lost tribes, respecting whose 
return from "The North Country," his fellow prophet, Jere- 
miah, promises an event that shall so far eclipse in scope 
and grandeur Israel's exodus from Egypt, that the latter 
will no more be mentioned. 

Joseph the Seer must have had the same thing in mind 
when he wrote : "And they who are in the north countries 
shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their pro- 
phets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay them- 
selves, and they shall smite the rocks and the ice shall flow 
down. at their presence, and an highway shall be cast up in 
the midst of the great deep."* 

Already he had foretold the removal of the Latter-day 
Saints to the Rocky Mountains — then a desolate, uninhab- 
ited region — and was evidently pondering that thought when 
he further declared : "And in the barren deserts there shall 
come : forth pools of living water ; and the parched ground 
shall no longer be a thirsty land." M 

Ephraim and the Returning Tribes. — It was Ephraim 
who lifted the Ensign for the Gathering. It is to Ephraim 
that the returning tribes will "bring forth their rich trea- 
sures," receiving from him their spiritual blessings. "And 
the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their 
presence. " v 

Judah and Jerusalem. — The same prophecy mentions 
the tribe of Judah, whose gathering place, however, is not 
the Land of Zion, not the New Jerusalem, but Jerusalem of 
old, yet to be rebuilt upon a scale of magnificence paralleled 



t, D. & C, 133 :26, 27. 
u, lb. 133 :29. 
v. lb. vv. 30, 32. 



176 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

only by the splendor of her sister city and twin capital of 
Christ's Kingdom.™ 

Even as the Waters. — Hear, O Israel! Children of 
Jacob! The night of dispersion is past. The day of gath- 
ering has dawned. The tempests that broke above the heads 
of your ancestors have spent their fury, and the clouds 
have parted and are rolling away. The barren ground, re- 
freshed by the fearful visitation, has brought forth abund- 
antly, and a ripened harvest awaits the reaper's cycle. The 
revivifying rains, having fulfilled their mission, must now 
return to the ocean whence they were taken. Such is the 
meaning, the symbolism, of the scattering and gathering 
of Israel. 



w, Isa. 2:3. 
In April 1840, Orson Hyde and John E. Page, both Apostles, 
were sent from Illinois on a mission to Palestine, to bless the soil, 
that its barrenness might depart and the way be opened for the 
restoration of the Jews to their ancient homeland. John E. Page 
faltered and fell by the way, but Orson Hyde accomplished his mis- 
sion. On the 24th of October, 1841, from the summit of the Mount 
of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem, he offered to the God of Israel, 
a fervent and eloquent prayer in behalf of his down-trodden peo- 
ple. He blessed the sterile land that in might once more become 
fruitful, and that Judah might repossess his heritage. Elder Hyde 
afterwards predicted that the British nation would take an active 
part in the redemption of Palestine; a prophecy fulfilled during the 
World War. In 1872, President George A. Smith went with a 
party from Salt Lake City, and again dedicated the Holy Land 
for the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-THREE. 
The Zion of Latter Days. 

A Work of Preparation. — The Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-day Saints stands for the gathering of the House 
of Israel and the building of the modern Zion, New Jeru- 
salem, preparatory to the Millennial reign of righteous- 
ness. Israel must be gathered, because it is the 
God of Israel who is coming to reign, and the descendants of 
Jacob are the only people who have the right to receive him 
when he appears. And they must become pure in heart, 
in order to be worthy of that high privilege. 

To His Own — The Christ is coming to "his own," as 
he came anciently; but it will not be said again that "his 
own received him not." They are even now preparing to 
receive him, as fast as circumstances will allow. All of "Mor- 
monism's" varied activities — proselyting, migrational, col- 
onizing, commercial, industrial and educational — have this 
as their paramount objective. The Latter-day Saints claim 
lineal descent from the Hebrew patriarchs. They are lit- 
erally of the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 1 — mostly 
through Ephraim, the "first-born" in the divine process of 
gathering Israel and bringing forth Zion. 

The Ensign Lifted. — It devolved upon Joseph Smith, 
a lineal descendant of Joseph of old, to begin, upon the Land 
of Joseph, the gathering of God's people from the nations. 
The organization of the Church was the setting up of the 
prophetic "Ensign," to assemble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four cor- 
ners of the earth." Joseph lived only long enough to as- 



a, Isa. 11 :12. 
12 



178 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

semble a portion of the half tribe of Ephraim, to which he 
belonged; but the work begun by him will go on until all 
the tribes of Israel are gathered, and the way is fully pre- 
pared for the blest reign of the King of Kings. 

Place and Plan. — The Church, organized on the sixth 
of April, 1830, was less than one year old when it re- 
moved from its birth-place, Fayette, New York, to Kirt- 
land, Ohio, where its infancy was cradled. There the Prophet 
announced the place for the New Jerusalem and the plan 
whereby the Holy City was to be established. Western 
Missouri was the place. 6 The plan became known as "The 
United Order." c 

The Pure in Heart. — "This is Zion — the pure in 
heart. " d So said Joseph Smith. For Zion is not only a 
place ; it is also a people and a condition. "Blessed are the 
pure in heart ; for they shall see God."* They are the only 
ones who will be permitted to see Him. Zion the place is 
where Zion the people will assemble for that purpose. In a 
general sense, the whole of America, North and South, is the 
Land of Zion/ Specifically, Zion, "the place for the city," 
is in Jackson County, Missouri/ 

Consecration. — The Zion of old — Enoch's common- 
wealth — was sanctified and translated through obedience to 
the Law of Consecration/ 1 a heaven-revealed principle sub- 
sequently practiced by the followers of Christ, both Jews 
and Nephites.* The modern Zion, "the perfection of 



b, D. & C. 45:64-71; 57:1-4. 

c, lb. 104:48. 

d, lb. 97:21. 

e, Matt. 5:8. 

f, Hist. Ch. Vol. 6 pp. 318, 319. 

g, D. & C. 57:2. 
h, Moses 7:18-21. 

i, Acts 4 :32-35 ; 4 Nephi 1 :2, 3. 



THE ZION OF LA TTER DA YS 179 

beauty," "the joy of the whole earth, "i is to be brought 
forth upon precisely the same principle — "every man seeking 
the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an 
eye single to the glory of God."^ 

Equality and Unity. — As a preliminary to the won- 
derful achievement in prospect, the Latter-day Saints were 
required to consecrate all their properties to the Lord. This 
was done, not to enrich any man nor any set of men, but 
to establish equality in material possessions, as a prerequi- 
site to the unity and power necessary for the mighty under- 
taking. Equality — not of intelligence and capacity, of 
course, but of ownership and of opportunity to advance and 
achieve — this was the purpose in view. The members of 
the community were to be equal in earthly things, 
that they might be "equal in obtaining heavenly things." 

A Celestial Law. — It was a law of the Celestial King- 
dom — the Zion of Eternity — that the Saints were required 
to obey, to the end that the Lord's will might be done on 
earth even as it is done in heaven — that Earth might be- 
come a heaven, in fact, and they who made it so be prepared 
for "a place in the celestial world. "' 

Stewardships. — It was not proposed to take from the 
people their possessions, and demand all their time and 
service, without making ample provision for their support. 
They were not to be pauperized, but enriched, through obe- 
dience to God's law. The properties they consecrated — 
farms, printing offices, mills, work-shops, money, etc. — were 
to be returned to them as "stewardships," differing, as tal- 
ents, aptitudes, and the ability to handle much or little dif- 
fer, but all to be managed in the interest of the common 
cause. All earnings were to go into a general fund, from 



;, Psalms 50:2: 48:2. 
k, D. & C. 82:19. 
I, lb. 78:5-7. 



180 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

which each steward would derive a maintenance, "every man 
according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his 
wants are just." OT 

First Bishops. — The introduction of this system was 
the occasion for the call of the first Bishops. The men 
chosen to manage, under the direction of the First Presi- 
dency, the temporalities of the United Order, were Edward 
Partridge and Newel K. Whitney. The former, as Bishop 
in Zion, received consecrations of properties and assigned 
stewardships at Independence, Missouri. The latter officiated 
in a similar capacity at Kirtland, Ohio, the headquarters 
of a Stake of Zion. M 

Against Lawlessness. — The United Order did not 

encourage lawlessness. It was the very antithesis of an- 
archy. It stood for law and government, for wise and 
good government — the government of God for the benefit of 
man. Sounding the death-knell of monopoly, fraud, and 
the misuse of power and privilege, it proposed to do away 
with class distinctions, founded on pride, vanity and the 
worship of wealth. It would abolish such conditions — not 
by violence, but peacefully and by common consent. Doc- 
trine, not dynamite ; humility, not self-assertion ; love of 
God and fellow man, not hatred and strife, were to ef- 
fect the desired emancipation. Under the benign influence 
of the Holy Spirit — God's gift to all who take upon them 
his name — envy and greed would give way to brotherly love 
and mutual helpfulness. 

No Drones in the Hive. — While philanthropic in the 
highest degree, the United Order was no mere alms-giving 
concern, no eleemosynary institution. Every member of the 
community was expected to work, to do that for which he 



m, D. & C, 82:17. 
n, lb. 41 :9 ; 72 :8. 



THE ZION OF LATTER DAYS 181 

or she might best be fitted. There were to be no drones in 
the hive, no idleness eating the bread of industry. Employ- 
ment for all, a place for everything and everything in its 
place — such was the ideal of this social-religious organiza- 
tion. It stood, in short, for justice and fair-dealing, with 
every man in the secure possession and full enjoyment of 
his own. Out of the righteous unity resulting from this 
ideal condition, was to come the power to build up Zion and 
prepare the way of the Lord. 

Why the Ideal Was Not Realized. — The United Order 
was not permanently established ; nor did itsi original work- 
ings long continue. Selfishness within, and persecution 
without, were the two-fold cause. The Church, driven from 
place to place, found it impracticable, with an imperfect ac- 
ceptance by its members of the Law of Consecration, to 
bring forth Zion at that early day. The great event, how- 
ever, was only postponed. The realization of the ideal is 
still in prospect. 

The Jackson County Expulsion — An attempt to rear 
the New Jerusalem was made in the summer of 1831, a col- 
ony approximating fifteen hundred men, women and chil- 
dren, settling for that purpose in Jackson County, Missouri, 
upon lands purchased from the Federal Government. Ground 
was consecrated, and a City laid out, including the site for 
a Temple. But a lack of the perfect unity necessary on the 
part of those selected for this' sacred task, prevented its ac- 
complishment at that time. "There were jarrings and con- 
tentions, and envyings and strifes, and lustful and covetous 
desires among them ; therefore,. by these things they polluted 
their inheritances. "^ Forewarned by the Prophet of what 
would result if these evils were not corrected, the colcnists 



o, D. & C. 45:64-71. 
p, lb. 101 :6. 



182 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

did not as a whole pay sufficient heed to the admonition, and 
the Lord permitted their enemies to come upon them and 
drive them from "the goodly land. ,, 

Persecuted and Persecutors.— The Jackson County 
colonists, whatever their faults, were superior to the people 
who mobbed them and drove them from their homes, mis- 
interpreting their motives and falsely accusing them of un- 
friendly acts or intentions toward the earlier settlers. The 
persecuted were better than the persecutors; but not good 
enough to completely carry out the high and holy pur- 
poses of Deity. It was in the autumn of 1833 that the 
"Mormon" colony was expelled from Jackson County .^ 

Zion Not Moved. — Then, and at a later period, when 
similar and worse mobbings and drivings had taken place, 
those who committed or countenanced the outrages were 
wont to say mockingly : "Whenever the Mormons are driven 
from one Zion, their Prophet gets a revelation appointing 
Zion somewhere else." How utterly unfounded this as- 
sertion, is best told in the language of a revelation given a 
few weeks after the Jackson County expulsion. Therein 
the Lord says : 

"Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwith- 
standing her children are scattered ; 

"They that remain, and are pure in heart, shall return, 
and come to their inheritances, they and their children, 
with songs of everlasting joy, to build up the waste places 
of Zion. . . . 

"And, behold there is none other place appointed than 
that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any 
other place appointed . . . for the work of the gathering 
of my saints, 



q, Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, pp. 390, 426. 



THE ZION OF LA TTER DA YS 183 

"Until the day cometh when there is found no more 
room for them; and then I have other places which I will 
appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the 
curtains or the strength of Zion." r 

Stakes of Zion. — Hear* it, ye Gentiles! Hear it, O 
House of Israel ! Jackson County, Missouri, is the chosen 
site for the City of Zion. No other place has been or will 
be appointed for that purpose. All other gathering places 
for God's people are Stakes of Zion, holding the outside 
cords and curtains of the' spiritual Tabernacle of the 
Lord. 

Zion's first Stake was at Kirtland, Ohio ; and other 
stakes were organized in Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. All 
these have been abandoned ; but many others, since estab- 
lished, now flourish in the region of the Rocky Mountains. 
There was no stake organization in Jackson County, 
though that part is sometimes referred to as "The Center 
Stake." Zion is there, or will yet be there — the very City 
of God; but no Stake of Zion/ 

In Abeyance.: — Zion is greater than any of her Stakes. 
It will require the Law of Consecration to bring forth 
Zion ; while a lesser law suffices for the creation of stakes, 
When the building up of Zion was postponed, the Law of 
Consecration was suspended, and the United Order went 



r, D. & C. 101:17, 18, 20, 21; 115:6. 

s, Zion, in sacred writ, is symbolized by a tent or portable tab- 
ernacle, such as the Israelites carried with them in the Wilderness. 
Evidently it was the custom then, as it is now, when setting up a 
tent, to drive stakes and fasten cords thereto — cords stretched from 
the tent, to make it firm and secure. Hence the phrase : "Length- 
en thy cords and strengthen thy stakes," a metaphor applied to Zion 
by the Prophet Isaiah. (54:2; 33:20). When a tent is erected, no 
center stake is driven ; it would be in the way — an obstacle to 
stumble over. Figuratively and in a larger sense, the same would 
be true of a Center Stake of Zion. There is no need for such a 
thing, and it would spoil the symbolism of the picture. 



184 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

into abeyance. Then was introduced the Law of Tithing/ 
a law adapted to the undeveloped condition of the Church. 
Since that time the work of founding and maintaining 
Stakes of Zion, preparatory to the coming forth of Zio'n 
proper, has engrossed the attention of the gathered children 
of Ephraim. 

t, D. & C. 119. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-FOUR. 

Redemption by Power. 

To Redeem Zion. — The failure of the Latter-day 
Saints, through lack of unity and obedience, to build up 
Zion in Jackson County, has been dwelt upon. It remains 
to tell of an effort to "redeem Zion," to reinstate the plun- 
dered people upon the lands of which they had been un- 
lawfully and violently dispossessed. This effort was put 
forth early in the year 1834, when an expedition was or- 
ganized in Ohio for that purpose. 

The Zion's Camp Expedition. — So was it styled. The 
Camp consisted of two hundred and five men, led by Joseph 
Smith in person, and including quite a number of Elders sub- 
sequently called to positions of high prominence in the 
Church. The expedition failed of its object — its avowed ob- 
ject — for reasons similar to those which had caused the ex- 
pulsion from Jackson County. Disobedience and rebellion 
on the part of some members of the Camp, and the continued 
disregard, by many of the exiles, of the divine requirements 
made of them, prevented their restoration to the homes and 
possessions of which they had been despoiled. 

A Want of Preparedness. — Zion might have been re- 
deemed, even at that early day, had the redemptive machin- 
ery been ready and in condition to do the necessary work. a 
But such a condition did not exist. "Gather up the strength 
of my house," the Lord had said concerning those upon 
whom he proposed to lay the sacred duty of Zion's redemp- 
tion. But "the strength" of his "house" did not hearken to 
the appeal,^ and the few who enrolled themselves as mem- 



a, D. & C. 105 :2. 
Mb. 103:30; 105:16. 



186 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

bers of that historic band were not all trained for the task 
nor equal to the trials that lay before them. 

"The Redemption of Zion Must Needs Come by 
Power." c — So spake the Divine Oracle. But "power 
dwells in unity, not in discord; in humility, not 
in pride ; in sacrifice, not selfishness ; in obedience, not 
rebellion. "<* Had all the Jackson County colonists borne 
this in mind and practiced accordingly, no such catastrophe 
as that which occurred would have befallen them. And if 
all who went to their relief had acted consistently with the 
same righteous principle, they would have escaped the tribu- 
lation that came upon them as a chastisement. 

Transgression the Cause, — The failure to build the 
New Jerusalem was due to transgression ;' in other words, 
to a lack of preparedness on the part of those selected for 
the sacred undertaking. Had the players been ready, the 
play could have been staged and presented. But nothing 
could compensate for the absence of readiness on their part. 
There is no substitute for the qualitites that men and women 
must possess who are chosen for so exalted an enterprise. 

All Not Responsible. — All members of the Church 
were not responsible for the Jackson County failure •/ but all 
had to share in the consequences entailed. The strength of 
a chain is proverbially the strength of its weakest link, and 
the general average of the newly-formed and inexperienced 
community was not high enough to justify a better outcome. 

Not a Complete Failure. — The Camp of Zion did not 
utterly fail. Indeed, there are good reasons for believing 
that it accomplished everything expected of it under the 
circumstances. And if this be true of the members of the 



c, D. & C. 103:15. 

d, "Life of Heber C. Kimball," o. 77. 

e, D. & C. 105 : 2, 9. 

f, lb. 105 :7. 



REDEMPTION BY POWER 187 

Camp, it is also true of those whose relief and reinstatement 
were the announced purpose of the expedition. 

All Things Foreseen. — At all events, what occurred 
must have been foreseen. Divine prescience extends to all 
things connected with the Lord's work. When He com- 
manded his people to build the New Jerusalem, he knew how" 
much, or how little, they were capable of accomplishing 
in that direction — knew it just as well before as he did 
after. Such a thing as surprise or disappointment on his 
part is inconceivable. An all-wise, all-powerful Being who 
has created, peopled, redeemed and glorified "millions of 
earths like this,"^ is not one to be astounded by anything that 
happens on our little planet. 71 

The Time Not Ripe. — The All-knowing One knew in 
advance what those Zion-builders would do, or leave un- 
done, and he shaped his plans accordingly. Evidently the 
time was not ripe for Zion's redemption. The Saints were 
not ready to build the New Jerusalem. The proof is in the 
trespasses committed by them against the divine laws or- 
dained for their government. 

A Season of Waiting. — "In consequence of the trans- 
gression of my people, it is expedient in me that mine Elders 
should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion." 
So came the voice of the Lord to Zion's Camp, on Fish- 



er, Moses 7:30. 

h, Some may question this assertion, and point to the passage, 
"It repented God that he had made man" (Gen. 6:6), as an in- 
stance of divine disappointment. But it should be borne in mind 
that makers of Scripture, l$ke all wise teachers, adapl} theiir 
language to the ccmprehension of those whom they teach, speaking 
that they ''may naturally understand" (D. & C. 29:34; 19:6-12). 
Whatever the dead letter may seem to say, God is not man, that He 
should "repent" (1 Sam. 15:29), or fail to foresee how his crea- 
tures win conduct themselves. It was Noah, not God, who "re- 
pented," in the case now under consideration.— Moses 8:25. 



188 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

ing River, Missouri. But this word of comfort came with 
it : "T have heard their prayers and will accept their offer- 
ings ; and it is expedient in me that they should be brought 
thus far for a trial of their faith/'* 

"A Trial of Their Faith."— Such then, was the real 
purpose of the call for that expedition. More was not ex- 
pected of the members of Zion's Camp, than a manifesta- 
tion of willingness to do all that the Lord might require of 
them. 

No Endowments. — Another proof that Zion's redemp- 
tion was not intended for that time, is found in another 
part of the same revelation: "And this cannot be brought to 
pass until mine elders are endowed with power from on 
high."'' Take note that the Church had no "endowments" 
in 1834. There was no Temple that early, and the sacred 
ritual of the House of God, even if revealed to the Prophet, 
had not been made known to the people. Whether this was 
the endowment referred to in the revelation, or whether 
it meant something else, it is evident that the blessing 
spoken of was in the future.* 

Zion could not be redeemed until the Elders were "en- 
dowed with power from on High." And yet these same 
Elders, unendowed, had been sent forth to redeem Zion! 
Surely, the Lord did not design it then to be. Else would 
He not have endowed them beforehand? This admitted, 
and what becomes of their "failure?" They were blame- 
worthy for their disobedience, but surely not for their failure 
to do what could not be done by men unendowed and con- 
sequentlv not equal to the undertaking. 

Left to the Future. — Zion was not redeemed in that 
dav for precisely similar reasons to those which kept an- 



i, D. & C. 105 :9, 19. 
7. lb. v. 11. 
k, Tb. v. 18, 



REDEMPTION BY POWER 189 

cient Israel wandering for forty years in the Wilderness, 
almost within sight of their coveted Canaan, which they 
were not permitted in that generation to possess/' Like 
Moses, these; modern pilgrims beheld, as from Pisgah's top, 
their promised land. Like Moses, on account of transgres- 
sion, they were not permitted to "cross over." There were 
Calebs and Joshuas, in the Camp who were worthy ; but the 
great event, in the wisdom of the Highest, was not destined 
then to be. It was left for a future generation and its Joshua 
to go up in the might of the Lord and redeem Zion.' M 

"With a Stretched Out Arm."— The Lord made it 
plain to His people that they must prepare themselves for 
the great things awaiting them. Before they could hope to 
accomplish their glorious destiny, they must become mighty, 
not only in numbers and material influence, but morally and 
spiritually mighty — mighty by the power of God, descend- 
ing upon them as an endowment from on High." When 
ready to redeem Zion, the way would be prepared for them, 
angels and even the Divine Presence going on before. They 
were not to use violence to secure their rights. God would 
fight their battles. They were "the children of Israel, and 
of the seed of Abraham," and "must needs be led out of 
bondage by power and with a stretched out arm." 

Tried and Proven. — From the ranks of the survivors 
of Zion's Camp — decimated by cholera while on its way to 
Jackson County — were chosen the first Twelve Apostles 
and the first quorums of Seventy in this dispensation.^ 
These men were deemed reliable. They had been 
put to the test, and had endured valiantly Thp trial of their 
faith was complete. 



/, Compare Article Eighteen, paragraph "A Period of Prepara- 
tion." 

m,T>. & C. 103: 16. 

n, lb. 105:11. 

o, lb. 103:17. 

t>, Hist. Ch. Vol. 2, pp. 180, 201. 



190 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

Nigh at Hand. — When will end the "little season" of 
waiting? When will the day of Zion's redemption dawn? 
I know not ; but this I know. That day is rapidly ap- 
proaching. The Order of Unity and Equality, involving the 
consecration, not only of properties, but also of hearts and 
hands, will yet be established and perpetuated. It must be, 
for Zion cannot be built up without it :? and until there is a 
ion on Earth, the Lord, the King of Kings, will not come 

q, D. & C. 105:5. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-FIVE. 
Clearing the Way. 

"I Will Fight Your Battles."— In a revelation, already 
cited, given through Joseph the Seer while Zion's Camp was 
resting on Fishing River, the Lord says concerning the 
Elders of his Church: 

4 T do not require at their hands to fight the battles of 
Zion ; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so 
will I fulfill. I will fight your battles/' 

"Behold, the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and 
lay waste mine enemies ; and not many years hence they 
shall not be left to pollute mine heritage and to blaspheme 
my name upon the lands which I have consecrated for the 
gathering together of my Saints- ?,fl 

War and Deity. — There are many good people who 
believe that anything of a war-like character, anything in- 
volving violence and bloodshed, is wholly incompatible with 
the benign disposition and benevolent purposes of Deity. 
According to their view, God has nothing to do with wars. 
From first to last they are the work, of the Evil One, mov- 
ing upon wicked men to stir up strife for selfish and 
sordid ends. Everything peaceful and pleasant comes from 
h:m who is the Prince of Peace ; everything of an opposite 
nature, and especially war, that prolific source of misery and 
sorrow, is due entirely to the Adversary. It is all well 
meant, of course, the object being to fore fend Deity against 
the reproach that: these good people fear would lie at 
his door, if it were admitted that he had even a share in 
what they conceive to be an unmixt evil, a thing ab- 
solutely wrong and unjustifiable. 



a, D. & C. 105:14, 15. 



192 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

But how can such views be reconciled with divine 
revelation and the history of God's dealings with man? 
If war is always wicked, and destruction ever at vari- 
ance with the will and purposes of Providence, how are 
we to understand such passages of scripture as the fore- 
going, wherein Jehovah, who is no other than Jesus, the 
meek and merciful, assures his servants that he will fight 
their battles, and assumes full responsibility for sending 
forth the destroyer to lay waste his enemies and theirs? 

Prince of Peace and Lord of Hosts. — The problem, 
seemingly complex, is in reality simple and easy of solu- 
tion. There are two sides to the Divine Character, two 
distinct and differing phases of God's dealings with mor- 
tals. The Lion as well as the Lamb plays a part in the 
stirring drama of human progress. The same perfect Being 
who counseled patience, charity, and the turning of "the 
other cheek," sternly rebuked hypocrisy, denounced 
wickedness in unmeasured terms, and with wrathful speech 
and thong of knotted cords, drove the thieving money- 
changers from the Temple. "Blessed are the merciful," said 
the Author of the Beatitudes.^ "Love your enemies," en- 
joined the Redeemer of the World. ,c But already He had 
proclaimed : "Vengeance is mine — I will repay ;" d and 
that high decree has never been revoked. Jehovah is both 
Prince of Peace and Lord of Hosts, the God of Sabaoth. 
These are among the titles belonging to him. Why are 
they his, if he has nothing to do with war — if such things 
are independently and exclusively the work of Satan? 

Providence Over All. — The student of this problem 
must not lose sight of the fact that Satan's sphere, like 
man's, is limited. Neither can do more thanj the Most 



b, Matt. 5 :7. 

c, lb. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35. 

d, Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35. 



CLEARING THE WAY 193 

High is willing should be done; and his willingness ex- 
tends only to such things as contribute, ultimately if not 
immediately, to the carrying out of his beneficent designs. 
The Book of Job is very plain upon this point. Only so 
far as the Almighty would permit, and it was deemed wise 
for that righteous man to be afflicted, in order ffco test 
his integrity, further develop the excellence of his 
character, and endow future ages with a deathless example 
of godlike patience — only so far was Satan allowed to go. 
He seemed to be having his own way with Job, and up to 
a certain mark did have it ; but nothing beyond. The Lord 
had his way. Whatever he bade Satan not to do, Satan had 
to leave undone. 

The Uses of Adversity. — Job's case is a reminder of 
the fact that the wicked can be used as a means of de- \Q 
veloping and improving the righteous, or of chastising 
and correcting people better than themselves. The pain- 
ful experiences of the Latter-day Saints furnish many 
cases in point. In Missouri, for instance, they were the 
victims of atrocious wrongs. They had done nothing, so 
far as their fellow men were concerned, to justify the cruel 
treatment meted out to them. But the Lord, in order to 
chasten his people and teach them wholesome lessons that 
they needed to learn, allowed their enemies to drive and 
despoil them/ 

Divinity Always Supreme. — Despite all appearances 
to the contrary, the Divine Will reigns supreme. To con- 
clude otherwise is to mentally dethrone Deity, and allow 



e, Job saw the matter in a clear light (2:10). He did not 
charge Deity with the authorship of evil — evil as well as good 
being self-existent. He knew that God is a hater of iniquity (Psalms 
45 :7 ; Heb. 1 :9) ; but he also knew that evil is controlled by the di- 
vine ruler and made tributary to the success of his plans. There- 
fore he did what all should do — he acknowledged the hand of the 
Lord in all things, in adversity as well as prosperity. 
13 



194 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

that Evil is stronger than Good. God is above Satan, and 
holds him in leash/ 

Destruction Essential. — We are not to suppose, how- 
ever, that the Lord delights in war — that He prefers it to 
peace ; or that he would have aught to do with strife 
and devastation, if his good and wise purposes could al- 
ways be accomplished by other and milder means. But 
if strife becomes necessary, and destruction essential, as 
when an old building is torn down to make room for a 
new one, and if the All-wise be the doer or director of the 
deed, who can question its rightfulness? "Shall the axe 
boast itself against him that heweth therewith ? Or shall 
the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?"* 

Wars Decreed. — "I have sworn in my wrath and de- 
creed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall 
slay the wicked. v/ ' So says the Almighty to his servant 
Joseph. And there lies the problem in a nutshell. God has 
"decreed wars" — decreed them for a purpose. Human 
iniquity brings down divine retribution, and the wicked 
are permitted to slay one another — partly as a punishment 
for their sins, but mainly to help clear the way for a higher 
and better order of things. 

Just and Unjust Wars. — Michael and the Dragon. — 

Some wars are righteous and just; others wrong; and un- 
just. All depends upon the purpose for which they are 
waged, and whether or not the Lord sanctions them. All 
unrighteous wars are the work of Satan and his minions. 



f, President Woodruff, in his Brigham City address, June 24, 
1894, — an address already cited in these pages — speaks thus of the 
Latter-day judgments : "God has held the angels of destruction for 
many years, lest they should reap down the wheat with the tares. 
But I want to tell you now, that these angels have left the portals of 
Heaven, and they stand over this people and this nation now, wait- 
ing to pour out the judgments." 

g, Isa. 10:15. 

h, D. & C. 63:33. 



CLEARING THE WAY . 195 

But all wars are not unrighteous. When Michael and his 
angels fought against the Dragon, and overcame him. 2 
surely the fight was a righteous one on Michael's part. As 
for the provocation — that springs another question. It is 
undoubtedly true that there would have been no "war in 
heaven," if Lucifer had not rebelled ; but, having re- 
belled, he had to be put down, and a righteous war was 
waged for that purpose. The conduct of those who make 
auch wars necessary, is not to' be compared with thp acts 
of those who rise up to vindicate right and vanquish wrong. 

Agnostic Arguments. — Joshua's conquest of Canaan 
—let us consider that.-' Agnostic writers, taking the view 
that all such wars are wricked, affect to regard this event 
as a grave crime. They brand Joshua as a murderer, and 
charge Jehovah with being a violator of his own statutes — 
a greater murderer, in short, who, after punishing the first 
slayer of his fellow r man, the fratricidal Cain,^ and laying 
down the law to Noah, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by 
man shall his blood be shed."' — emphasizing it lacer with 
the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill"'" — directed the 
general of his armies to commit wholesale slaughter and 
extermination. Therefore was he a murderer and a law- 
breaker. Such is the logic of Robert G. Ingersoll and 
other writers of his class. 

And what a wretched piece of sophistry it is. How 
utterly shallow and vain. As if the Giver of life could not 
take back what he had given — the right to it having been 
forfeited — without committing a crime! As if the Author 
and Ruler of the universe could not repeal or suspend one 
of his own enactments, without being a law-breaker! Think 



i, Rev. 12 :7-9. 
j, Trshua 1-12. 
k, Gen. 4:11, 12. 
/, lb. 9:6. 
m, Ex. 20:13. 



196 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

of it : Colonel Ingersoll, an experienced lawyer, a prac- 
titioner and devotee of the science of jurisprudence, deny- 
ing to the great Law-Giver a right inherent in and ex- 
ercised by the humblest legislative body on earth ! To such 
illogical extremes will men go, when they presume to pass 
judgment upon Providence. 

The Case of the Canaanites. — Joshua's war upon the 
Canaanites was a just war, designed to rid the earth of 
a corrupt generation, which had forfeited its right to 
longer remain, encumbering the soil, particularly that part 
which the Creator and Owner of the planet had given to 
a worthier people. Jehovah's command to clear the ground 
upon which he proposed erecting a national structure that 
should stand as a temple of wisdom and light for the 
welfare of all succeeding generations, did not impinge 
upon any command of his previously given. Neither is 
the Divine One amenable to human judgment. "Thou shalt 
not kill" was a commandment from God, not to him. His 
word is superior to all human enactments and to all man's 
notions of right and wrong. The war waged by Joshua and 
the hosts of Israel against the wicked and usurping Canaa- 
nites was in every respect justifiable, so far as it was con- 
ducted according to Jehovah's command." 

"The King Can Do No Wrong." — This proverb, when 
used by corrupt rulers to justify and cloak their crimes, 
is flagrantly false and pernicious. When applied to the 
King of Heaven, it is eminently and unquestionably true. 
The Author of life can send forth the destroyer and lay 



n, The same may be said of Israel's war upon the Amalekites, in 
the days of King Saul, and of similar wars undertaken by "the 
armies c{ the living God," heaven-directed and divinely em- 
powered. Samuel's hewing of Agag "in pieces before the Lord," was 
not a crime, but an act of justice, a righteous retribution upon an 
unrighteous ruler, whose sword had "made women childless.' — 
1. Sam. 15 :33. 



CLEARING THE WAY 197 

waste his enemies, without blood-guiltiness or even the 
shadow of wrong-doing. He can decree wars, and allow the 
wicked to slay the wicked, without partaking of their evil 
deeds or making himself responsible for their demon-in- 
spired atrocities. These must all be accounted for at the 
bar of Eternal Justice. 

The American Revolution. — It was not Satan who 
caused the heroic struggle of the American colonies, giv- 
ing them power to win their freedom and independence, 
to the end that a nation might arise upon this chosen soil 
with a mission to foster and protect the infant and growing 
Church of Christ. That was a righteous war, and the divine 
inspiration for it rested upon the Patriot Fathers. who, 
at the hazard of their lives, signed the immortal Declara- 
tion, and drew their swords to defend and perpetuate that 
sublime annunciation of liberty and equal rights. 

The World War. — So with the great war that over- 
threw the German Kaiser, putting an end to the wicked 
strife that he was waging. It was a righteous against an 
unrighteous exertion of military force. What better mo- 
tive could a nation have than that which actuated the 
A.merican people in sending forth their armies and navies to 
check the on-rushing hordes that were bent upon crush- 
ing freedom and setting an iron heel on the neck of the 
worfd? It was a holy war, so far as America was con- 
cerned; and a just war, a war of self-defense, xm the 
part of her associated powers. The God of Justice was 
in it for the welfare of humanity. Who can doubt that 
Ke upheld and sustained the arms of those who carried it 
to a victorious conclusion? And if the result. shall be even 
a partial clearing of the way for the introduction or further 
spread of Liberty's Perfect Law among spiritually be- 
nighted nations, the mightiest and costliest of earth's con- 
flicts will not have been in vain. 

o, 1 Nephi 13:16-19. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-SIX. 
God's Hand Upon the Nations. 

Compelling Situations. — The Lord will force no man 
to Heaven, nor permit Satan to force any man to Hell. 
Human agency remains inviolate. But while there is no 
such thing in the Gospel of Christ as compulsion, in the 
sense of fettering man's free will, there is such a thing as 
a compelling situation, the creating of conditions and 
shaping of circumstances that have often influenced men 
to do, of their own volition, what they would not have 
done if the situation had not changed »f ^uch conditions 
and circnmstances had not arisen. 

A simple illustration is furnished in the old-time 
anecdote of the boy up the farmer's apple tree — refusing 
to come down when kindly requested ; persisting in his 
refusal when sharply reprimanded and a handful of turf 
thrown; but, when pelted with stones, scrambling down in 
a hurry — of his own accord. That is my idea of a com- 
pelling situation ; the offender retaining his freedom, exer- 
cising his right of choice, but yielding to force of cir- 
cumstances, and changing his mind'for his own behoof. 

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough hew them as we will." 

The Parable of the Supper. — Force, indirect compul- 
sion, 'applied without infringing upon man's agency, is 
undoubtedly an element of the divine economy. What else 
is the meaning of the Savior's parable in which he likens 
the Kingdom- of Heaven to a feast? 

"A certain man made a great supper, and bade 
many: 



GOD'S HAND UPON THE NATIONS 199 

"And /sent his servant at supper-time, to say to them 
that were bidden. Come, for all things are now ready. 

"And they all with one consent began to make ex- 
cnse. The first ;«aid unto him, I have bought a piece of 
ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray thee have 
me excused. { 

"And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, 
and I go to prove them : I pray thee have me excused. 

"And another said. I have married a wife: and there- 
fore I cannot come. 

"So that servant came, and showed his lord these 
things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said 
to his servant. Go out quickly into the streets and lanes 
of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, 
and the halt, and the blind. 

"And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast 
commanded, and yet there is room. 

"And the,.' lord said unto the servant, Go out into the 
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that 
my house may be filled." 

The inference is, that they were "compelled to come 
in," but not against their own freedom of choice. 

Fishers and Hunters, — The God of Israel has set his 
hand to gather his elect and prepare the world for the 
sanctifying reign of righteousness. He will accomplish 
what he has undertaken, using for that purpose every means 
consistent and available. Christ died to save the souls of 
men, and save them He will — by mild measures whenever 
these will avail ; but by stern methods, if necessary, after the 
mild have proved ineffectual. First, the "fishers," with 
gentle, kind persuasion. Then the "hunters" — war, com- 
motion and destruction. Such is the divine program. 5 



a, Luke 14:16-23. 

b, Jer. 16:16. 



2C0 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

The Day of Wrath — A Refuge From the Storm.— 

Joseph the Seer prophesied that war would "be poured out 
upon all nations." Zion, the pure in heart, are to "be the 
only people that 'shall not be at war one with another." 
"And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every 
man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must 
needs flee unto Zion for safety. " d To provide against 
these and other perils, the '[Church of Christ was founded — 
"a standard for the nations," "that the gathering together 
upon the land of Zion and upon her stakes," might be 
"for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from 
wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon 
the whole earth. " e 

Other Judgments. — But war is not the only expres- 
sion of divine wrath. The strife of nation against nacion 
is butf'one of many turmoils that the last days are destined 
to witness. Epidemics of sickness are to play a part in the 
great retribution/ John on Patmos heard a voice from 
Heaven say : "Come out of her, my people, that ye re- 
ceive not of her plagues."* Through Joseph in America, 
the same dread oracle proclaimed "a desolating scourge," 
that "shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, 
and shall continue to be poured out from time to time if 
they repent not, until the earth is empty and the inhabi- 
tants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed 
by the brightness of my coming."* 1 

Divine Participation. — And who, after reading what 
follows, can doubt divine participation in these troubles : 



c, D. & C. 87:2. 

d, lb. 45 :68, 69. 

e, lb. 115:4-6. 

f, lb. 45:31. "An overflowing scourge — a desolating sickness," 
to "cover the land." 

g, Rev. 18 :4. 

h, D. & C. 5:19. 



GOD'S HAND UPON THE NATIONS 201 

"For I the Almighty have laid my hand upon the nations to 
scourge them for their wickedness ; and plagues shall go 
forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until 
I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in 
righteousness. Until all (shall know me, who remain, even 
from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the 
knowledge of the Lord and shall see eye (to eye."* 

After Testimony, Indignation. — The Lord's servants 
were "to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time," 
"to bind up the law and seal up the testimony," and 
"prepare the Saints for the hour of judgment." 

"And after your testimony cometh wrath and in- 
dignation upon the people. 

"For after your testimony cometh the testimony of 
earthquakes that shall cause groanings in the midst of 
her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be 
able to stand. 

"And also cometh the testimony of the voice of 
thunderings and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of 
tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea, heaving 
themselves beyond their bounds. 

"And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, 
men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all 
people."- 7 ' 

Again: "The earth shall tremble and reel to and fro 
as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and 
shall refuse to give light, and the moon shall be bathed 
in blood, and the stars shall become exceeding angry, 
and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from 
off a fig tree."^ 

The Question of Cause. — Who will cause these ter- 



i, D. & C. 84:96-98. 
j, Tb. 88:88-91. 
k, Tb. 88 :87. 



202 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

rible calamities ? Not man — that is certain ; though his con- 
duct may justify them. Men can stir up strife and pre- 
cipitate war. They can even bring pestilence and famine. But 
they cannot stir up tempests and earthquakes, cause whirl- 
winds and tidal-waves, or govern the action of sun, moon 
and stars. These, with other convulsions of nature, no less 
than war, famine and pestilence, are among God's judg- 
ments upon the workers of iniquity. Satan, "prince of the 
powers of the air," may be immediately responsible for 
these fearful disturbances;' but he can do only what he 
is permitted to do by the All-just and All-merciful, who 
looses him or holds him in check. 

The Divine Purpose. — And what is the purpose — the 
ultimate purpose of it all? Destruction? No, a thousand time; 
no, except in so far as destruction must at times precede re- 
construction, and is necessary to preserve what is worth 
preserving. The world's welfare is the object in view. God's 
wrath, however fiercely it burns, is not comparable to 
petty human anger. His work and his glory is "to bring to 
pass the immortality and eternal life of man,"" 1 and if, in 
the process, He uses the powers of destruction, as well 
as the powers of contruction — for "all power" is his, "in 
heaven and in earth"" — it is because such a course has be- 
come necessary and is for the best. However severe his 
chastisements, we can rest assured of this : Hatred of hu- 
manity has no place in the heart of Him who "so loved the 
world" that he "gave his Only Begotten Son" to save it 
from eternal damnation. 

Why Calamities Come. — Calamities do not come up- 
on the world merely to scourge the wicked and avenge the 
wrongs of the righteous. The primal aim of Divine Punish- 



1, Job 1 :19. 

m, Moses 1 :39. 

n, Matt. 28:18. 



GOD'S HAND UPON THE NATIONS 203 

merit is to purify, and if possible save those upon whom 
the "Great Avenger" lays a chastening hand. The object 
is to bring sinners to repentance, to throw down the bar- 
riers that prevent men from coming to Christ, and turn 
into the upward path those bent upon pursuing the down- 
ward road. The Gospel saves all who are willing to be 
saved, and who show their willingness by their obedience, 
their faith by their works. It also aims to save the unwill- 
ing and disobedient — here if possible, and if not here, 
then hereafter. Wars and other woes are sent to put a 
stop to men's evil practices, lest they add sin to sin and 
pile up guilt to their greater condemnation. To be swept 
off the earth and ministered to in the spirit world, is 
not the worst fate that can befall the wicked. Omnipo- 
tence wields the powers of destruction in such a way as 
to make of them instruments of salvation. It may seem 
cruel, but in reality it is kind. 

Safety With The Priesthood. — The Almighty does 
not hurl the shafts of affliction against the righteous, 
especially against helpless innocence; but in pursuance of 
his benevolent designs, and to effect the greatest good to 
the greatest number, He permits the destroyer to exercise 
his agency in a world where good and bad, old and young, 
all classes and all qualities, dewll. Some of the woes thus 
launched fall partly upon the choicest of God's children, un- 
less faith be there — as doubtless He intends — faith 
and the power of the Priesthood, to intervene for their 
preservation. "The just shall live by faith," it is written, 
and the Priesthood is a shield to those who bear it and 
to those who honor its possessors. 



o, Said President Woodruff, in his address upon the judgments: 
"Can you tell me where the people are who will be shielded and pro- 
tected from these great calamities? I'll tell you: The priesthood 
of God who honor their priesthood, and who are worthy of 
their blessings. ... No other people have a right to be shielded 



204 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

The Chastening of the Lord. — "My son," says the 
ancient Wise Man, "despise not the chastening of the 
Lord ; neither be weary of his correction : For whom the 
Lord loveth, he correcteth ; even as a father the son in 
whom he delighteth."^ Bearing in mind this sapient ad- 
monition, let us not be doubtful of the Divine Purpose in 
sending forth the destroyer, whether in the shape of war, 
pestilence and famine, partly caused by human' agency ; 
or in earthquakes, cyclones, and other fierce convulsions, 
over which man has absolutely no control. They are all 
phases of "The Battle of the Great God," 5 intent upon 
clearing the way for the coming of the Perfect One, 
bringing order out of chaos, overthrowing wrong and 
establishing' right, to the end that the human race may 
be permanently blest and the righteous possess in peace 
the heritage prepared for them from the foundation of 
the world. 



from these judgments. They are at our very doors; not even 
this people will escape them entirely. They will come down like 
the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah, and none but the priest- 
hood will be safe from their fury." 

The President meant, no doubt, to include in this reference 
those who follow the servants of the Lord and are guided by their 
counsels. He was speaking to a general congregation, and said, 
in addition to the words just quoted: "If you do your duty, and 1 
do my duty, we shall have protection, and shall pass through the 
afflictions in peace and safety." 

/>. Prov. 3:1-2. 

<7, D. & C. 88:114. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-SEVEN. 
The Consummation. 

Time, mighty daughter of Eternity! 

Mother of ages and of aeons past ! 

Assemble now thy children at thy side, 

And ere thou diest teach them to be one. 

Link to its link rebind the broken chain 

Of dispensations, glories, keys and powers, 

From Adam's fall unto Messiah's reign — 
A thousand years of rest, a day with God, 

While Shiloh reigns; and Kolob once revolves. a 

Gathering the Gatherers. — The Dispensation of the 
Fulness of Times is distinctively a gathering dispensa- >' 
tion. But it stands for more — far more than the assem- 
bling of the dispersed House of Israel. It is the spiritual 
harvest-time of all the ages, the long-heralded Era of 
Restitution/ when the great Garnerer of "all things in 
Christ" will reveal himself in power and glory, and place 
the capstone on the temple of heaven-inspired human 
achievement. The gathering of Israel is only the preface 
to the book, only the prologue to the play. The gathering 
of the gatherers — such is the meaning of the preliminary 
work now in progress, a work in which Gods, angels and 
men have joined. 

The Final Development. — This great era of restora- 
tion was made necessary by the departure of the Christian 
word from the faith delivered to the former-day Saints. 
But that is not its full significance. In accordance with 
the foreknowledge of God, and in consonance with his 



a, "Elias," Canto 5, p. 37, annotative edition. 

b, Acts 3:21. 



206 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

sublime, far-reaching purposes, this vast, all-compre- 
hending period was foreordained from the beginning as 
the final development of the Divine Flan — ''the winding-up 
scene" of the Creator's work pertaining to this planet. 6 ' 

All in One. — Joseph the Seer, referring to this mighty 
dispensation, and the object for which it was "ushered 
in " says : 

"It is necessary . . that a whole and complete and 
perfect union and welding-together of dispensations and 
keys and powers and glories should take place, and be 
revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time ; 
and hot only this, but those things which never have been 
revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been 
kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto 
babes and sucklings in this the dispensation of the fulness of 
times. " d 

Joseph Smith's Work. — These words were uttered by 
the Prophet less than two years before the tragic termina- 
tion of his mortal life. He had looked upon the face of God, 
as did Enoch, Moses, and other seers in times of old. He 
had communed with Angels, receiving from them the keys 
or the Priesthood and the principles of the Everlasting Gos- 
pel. Thus empowered, he had organized on earth the Church 
of Christ, the forerunner of the Kingdom that shall stand 
forever/ Wrapt in celestial vision, he had gazed upon the 
glories of Eternity, portraying" in burning eloquence 
the destiny of the human race, setting forth in vivid plain- 
ness the conditions of man's salvation and exaltation in 
worlds to come/ He had preached the Gospel in various 
parts of his native land, and had caused it to be preached 



c, D. & C. 77:12. 

d, Tb. 128:18. 

e, Dan 2:44. 

f, D. & C. 76. 



THE CONSUMMATION 207 

iri realms beyond the sea. His glorious career, which was 
about to end in martyrdom, was signalized by the intro- 
duction and practice of sacred principles which he af- 
firmed would bring forth Zion and enable the pure in 
heart to "see God" and inherit celestial glory — the ulti- 
mate aim of all righteous endeavor. 

The Divine Presence. — "This," said the Prophet, "is 
why Adam blessed his posterity; he wanted to bring them 
into the presence of God."£ "Moses sought to bring the 
children of Israel into the presence of God, through the 
power of the Priesthood, but he could not. In the first 
ages of the world they tried to establish the same thing, 
and there were Eliases raised up who tried to restore 
these very glories, but. did not obtain them. But they 
prophesied of a day when this glory would be revealed, 
. . . when God would gather together all things in one." /l 

Keys Committed.— The Prophet goes on to say that 
the Angels who hold the keys of spiritual powers and 
blessings — "authoritative characters" — men in heaven hav- 
ing children on earth — "will come down and join hand in 
hand in bringing about this work." 1 ' At the time of that 
utterance, this phase of the Latter-day Work had begun, 
the founder of the Church having received from heavenly 
messengers the keys of authority and power held by them 
in past dispensations. The Aaronic Priesthood had been 
conferred by John the Baptist, 7 and the Melchizedek 
Priesthood by Peter, James and John.* Without this divine 
authorization the Church could not have been established, 
the Ensign could not have been raised for the gathering 
of scattered Israel. Already have I related how the keys 



p, P. & C. 107:56. 

h, lb. 84:23, 24. 

i. Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, pp. 388, 389. 

/, D. & C. 13. 

k. lb. 27:12; 128:20. 



208 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

of the gathering were committed to Joseph Smith and 
Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. 

Elias and Elijah — But more was to follow. In that 
wonderful record of visions manifested to these Elders, and 
testified of by them, occurs this solemn affirmation: 

"Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of 
the Gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed 
all generations after us should be blessed. 

"After this vision had closed, another great and 
glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the Prophet, who 
was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us 
and said — 

"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of 
by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should 
be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord 
come, 

"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and 
the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smit- 
ten with a curse. 

"Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are com- 
mitted into your hands, and by this ye may know that the 
great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the 
doors. " ; 

The Same Yet Not the Same. — "Elias," considered as 
a name, is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "Elijah." 
Compared references in the New and Old Testaments 
clearly establish their verbal identity.™ But Joseph Smith 
distinguished between "the spirit of Elias" and "the spirit 
of Elijah," the former a forerunner, the latter holding the 



I, D. & C. 110:12-16; Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 390. 
.m, See Luke 9:54 and 2 Kings 18:38; also James 5:17 and 1 
Kings 17:1. 



THE CONSUMMATION 209 

sealing powers necessary to complete the work of prepara- 
tion for Messiah's advent." 

Elijah, therefore, is not to be confounded with Elias — 
that is to say, with the Elias who committed the keys of the 
Abrahamic dispensation. There are many Eliases, in the 
sense of the lesser preparing the way before the greater; 
and by one of them Abraham's keys were restored, in 
order that the blessings anciently pronounced upon the 
Father of the Faithful might be extended tq his pos- 
terity in modern times. 

Why Elijah?— "Why send Elijah?" asks the Prophet; 
and answers his own question thus : "Because he holds 
the keys of the authority to administer in all the ordin- 
ances of the Priesthood; and without the authority is 
given, the ordinances could not be administered in right- 
eousness." In the same connection he states that "Elijah was 
the last prophet that held the keys of the Priesthood." 

n, Hist. Ch. Vol. 6, pp. 249, 254. 

o, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, p. 211. 

Elijah the Tishbite, as he is called in Scripture, figured in the 
history of the Kingdom of Israel about nine centuries before the 
birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a period of idolatry, when the 
priests of Baal (whom Elijah overthrew) had Ahab the king and his 
wife, the wicked Jezebel, completely under their sinister influence. 
Regarding the great Prophet of Restoration, Dr. Geikie, says : 

"The immense influence of Elijah during his life is seen in the 
place he held in the memory of after generations in Israel. He takes 
rank along with Samuel and Moses ; not like the former, as 
the apostle of a system yet undeveloped ; or as the founder of a 
religion, like the latter ; but as the restorer of the old when it was 
almost driven from the earth. The prophet Malachi portrays him 
as the announcer of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. His 
reappearance was constantly expected as the precursor of the 
Messiah. So continually was he in the thoughts of the people of 
New Testament times, that both John the Baptist and our 
Lord were supposed to be no other than he. The son of Sirach 
(See Apocrypha) calls him a fire, and says that his word burned 
like a torch, and that it was he who was to gather together 
again the tribes of Israel from the great dispersion. . . . 

"His final coming, it is believed, will be three days before that 
of the Messiah, and on each of the three he will proclaim peace, 

14 






210 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

The Restorer's Mission. — Elijah's mission, as made 
known by modern revelation, represents the establishment 
of that condition of perfect unity referred to by Joseph the 
Seer, whose comment thereon is quoted in the third para- 
graph of this article. "Mormonism," as already explained, 
does not stand for one Gospel dispensation alone, but for 
all the Gospel dispensations, extending', like the links of 
a mighty chain, through the whole course of Time. The 
Final Dispensation, made effective by the keys of Elijah, 
will bring together and weld in one the parted links of this 
universal chain. The restitution of all things — the setting 
iii order of the Lord's House, preparatory to his coming, 
such is the significance of the mission of Elijah, who turns 
the hearts of the fathers (in heaven) to the children (on 
earth), and the hearts of the children to the fathers. 

The Welding Link. — But these hearts must not only 
be turned ; they must be bound together, and beat as one. 
That thought, no less than the other, was in the Prophet's 
mind when, from his place of retirement during a season 
of trouble, he wrote repeatedly to the Church regarding 
an all-important duty devolving upon its members. Said 
he : "The earth will be smitten with a curse unless there 
is a welding link of some kind or other, between the fathers 
and the children." And what is it? "It is the baptism for 
the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect, 
neither can they without us be made perfect."*' 

Without Unity, No Perfection. — Perfection is the 
great end in view ; and without unity there can be 



happiness and salvation, in a voice that will be heard over all the 
earth. So firm, indeed, was the conviction of this in the days of 
the Talmud, that when goods were found which no owner claimed, 
the common saving- was, Put them by till Elijah comes."— "Hours 
with the Bible," Vol. 4, pp. 65,66. 
p, D. & C. 127, 128. 



THE CONSUMMATION 211 

up perfection. To bring about this great consummation, the 
Gospel was instituted, the Savior chosen, Earth created, 
and the human race placed upon this planet. Nothing im- 
perfect can inherit the Divine Presence — the fulness of 
God's glory. This important lesson is taught by the 
principle of marriage — celestial marriage — the sealing of 
the sexes, not for time only, but for all eternity. "The man 
is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, 
in the Lord." 5 United, they represent completeness, per- 
fection, each being the complement of the other. Husband 
and wife, parent and child, the living and the dead, must 
be one, lest it be said of them at the celestial gates, as it 
was said at the gates of Verdun : "They shall not pass." 
The Latter-day Saints build temples and officiate therein, 
the living for the dead, not only to save them, but to bring 
them into that grand Order of Unity, so necessary to the 
perfection of God's work. 

The Keys of Preparation. — Past and present are re- 
lated. It is the relationship of parent and child. Neither is 
complete without the other. What has been and what is 
must join, before perfection can reign. Without unity and 
the perfecting power of righteousness, the Saints would be 
unprepared to receive the King of Kings. Earth, unable to 
endure the overpowering glory of his presence, would vanish 
from before his face, like hoar-frost in the rays of the rising 
sun/ That there might be no such calamity, no converting 
of an intended blessing into a consuming curse, Elijah re- 
stored the Keys of Preparation. 

The Universal Gathering. — The gathering of the 
House of Israel is to be supplemented by a greater gather- 



q, 1 Cor. 11:11. 
r, Mai. 3:2; 4:1. 



212 THE ERA OF RESTITUTION 

ing — the bringing together of all the Gospel dispensations, 
with all the sacred powers and mighty personages con- 
nected therewith/ There is to be a general assembly, 
a universal union, in which sainted souls from all glori- 
fied creations will join."* All things that are Ohrists's, both 
in heaven and on earth, will eventually be brought to- 
gether, and the divided and discordant parts attuned and 
blended into one harmonious Whole. 



s, D. & C. 27 :5-14. 

t, lb. 76:67; Moses 7:31, 64. 



PART SEVEN 



POWERS AND PRINCIPLES 



ARTICLE TWENTY-EIGHT. 
The Priesthood. 

What "Priesthood" Means. — Divine authority., or the 
right to rule, inherent in the supreme Source of all power — 
such is the primal meaning of "Priesthood." It also signi- 
fies the men in whom that authority is vested — the servants 
of the Lord, who officiate for him and administer the laws 
and ordinances of the Gospel. 

Why Necessary. — Divine laws, like human laws, 
require officers and a government to administer them. God, 
being in the form of man, cannot be everywhere present 
in his own person. Immanent by the spirit that proceeds 
from him, omnipresent by his power, influence and au- 
thority, He cannot, as a personage, occupy two places at 
the same time, any more than he can make something out 
of nothing- or do aught else that is impossible. To say that 
Deity can do that which cannot be done, is no glorification 
of Deity. It is sheer nonsense, nothing more. 

Since the Supreme Being cannot be everywhere present 
iii person, cannot be in Heaven and on Earth simultane- 
ously, he requires representatives to carry on his work in 
this as in other parts of the universe. Herein is the prime 
reason, the fundamental fact, underlying the necessity for a 
Priesthood and a Church organization. 

A Twofold Power. — There are two priesthoods in the 
Church of Christ, or, more properly, two grand divisions of 
priesthood, namely, the Melchizedek and the Aaronic, the 
latter an appendage to the former.* This dualism is owing 
to the fact that Divine Government takes " cognizance of 
and deals with things temporal as well as with things 



a, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, p. 207; D. & C. 107:1-20. 



216 POWERS AND PRINCIPLES 

spiritual. Nevertheless, all things are spiritual to Deity." 
As Eternity includes Time, so the spiritual includes the tem- 
poral. , , 
Origin of Names. — The Melchizedek Priesthood was 
named for Melchizedek, king of Salem. c The powers of this 
priesthood are unlimited. It wields authority over 
all things. Holding "the keys of the Kingdom 
of God," it is the divinely ordained "channel through 
which every important matter is revealed from Heaven. " li 
The Aaronic or Lesser Priesthood takes its name from 
Aaron, the brother of Moses. It operates within a limited 
sphere, having a special calling to administer in temporal 
affairs, in material things. 

Symbolized by the Soul. — The Government of God, 
with its two mighty wings of priestly power and authority, 
corresponds to and is symbolized by the soul. As spirit and 
body constitute the soul, so the Melchizedek and Aaronic 
priesthoods constitute the government of the Church of 
Christ. Through the medium of the body, with its various 
members and organs, the things of this life are possessed 
and utilized, while those pertaining to a higher state of ex- 
istence are apprehended and made use of by means of the 
spiritual faculties. Even so, by these two priesthoods, dif- 
fering in powers and prerogatives, yet allied, interwoven 
and harmonious in their mutual workings, is carried on in 
all worlds the sublime work of Omnipotence. 

Furthermore, to extend the analogy, it is the spirit or 
higher part of man that controls, directs and supplies the 
motive power of the body, being the vital mainspring of 
this wondrous piece of machinery, whose functions are 
forwarded by the animation resulting from the union of 



b, D. & C. 29:34, 35. 

c, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1-21. 

d, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, p. 207. 



THE PRIESTHOOD 217 

the twain. In like manner, the Melchizedek Priesthood, 
holding the keys of presidency, controls and directs the 
entire body of the Church ; delegating, however, a portion 
of its authority to the Lesser Priesthood, that it likewise 
may wield a legitimate influence and execute the purposes 
for which it was designed. 

"No Man Taketh This Honor." — Men cannot con- 
stitute themselves servants of the Lord. They must be called 
by him — literally called and ordained, or they are not 
qualified to speak and act in his name and stead. While 
there is no ban upon doing good, and all are free to pro- 
mote truth and practice righteousness, and will reap sure 
reward for so doing, there is no such thing as heavenly sanc- 
tion upon usurped office and authority. The Scriptures 
make this fact exceedingly plain/ "God will not acknowl- 
edge that which he has not called, ordained and chosen/ 

Christ The Head. — Jesus Christ is the great "Apostle 
and High Priest,"* standing at the head of the priestly- 
kingly Order of Melchizedek. It was originally styled "The 
Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God ;" but 
this title was changed out of reverence for the Supreme 
Being, to avoid "the too frequent repetition" of the all- 
sacred name. Melchizedek's name was substituted, because 
he "was such a great High Priest. " ft "Apostle" means 
"Messenger," or one who is sent. The use of the term, 
as one of the titles of the Savior, is warranted by the fact 
that the Son was sent forth by the Father.* He was therefore 
the Father's messenger. In like manner, those sent forth by 
the Son are his apostles or messengers, particularly the 
twelve special witnesses. 



e, 1 Sam. 13:9-14; 2 Sam. 6:6,7; 2 Chron. 26:18-21; Heb. 5:4. 

f, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4. pp. 208, 209. 

g, Heb. 3:1. 

h, D. & C. 107:2-4. 
i, Abr. 3:27; John 14:24. 



218 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

Adam Stands Next. — Next to the Savior in divine au- 
thority, stands Adam, Ancient of Days, the father of the 
whole human family. So says Joseph the Prophet, in his 
great discourse on Priesthood. "The priesthood was first 
given to Adam ; he obtained the First Presidency, and held 
the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it 
. . before the world was formed . . He had dominion 
given him over every living creature. He is Michael the 
Archangel."'' 

Noah's Position. — "Then to Noah, who is Gabriel; 
he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood. He 
was called of God to this office, and was the father of all 
living in his day, and to him was given the dominion. These 
men held keys first on earth and then in heaven."^ 

These inspired utterances regarding Adam and Noah 
ought to set at rest the question with which they deal. They 
are a sufficient answer to the charge, sometimes made, that 
the Latter-day Saints rank Joseph Smith as next in dignity 
and power to Jesus Christ. It is fitting that the Prophet him- 
self should supply the refutation. 

An Everlasting Principle. — He goes on to say : "The 
Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with 
God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning 
of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from 
heaven whenever the Gospel is sent. When they are revealed 
from heaven, it is by Adam's authority."' 

Succession and Descent. — From Adam, the Priest- 
hood descended through the following line : Abel, Enoch, 
Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Esaias, Gad, Jeremy, Elihu, 
Caleb, Jethro and Moses." w Says the Prophet "The Savior, 



/, Hist. Ch. Vol 3, pp. 385, 386. 
k, lb. p. 386. 
I, lb. p. 386. 
m, D. & C. 84:6-17. See also 107:40-52. 



THE PRIESTHOOD 219 

Moses and Elias gave the keys to Peter, James and John, 
on the Mount, when they were transfigured before him." 
Fie then asks : "How have we come at the Priesthood in the 
last days?" — and answers thus: "It came down, down, in 
regular succession. Peter, James and John had it given to 
them, and they gave it to others." The "others" include 
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the earliest Elders of 
the Latter-day Church.™ 

Agents of the Almighty. — Inherent in the Priesthood 
is the principle of representation. So plenary and far- 
reaching are its powers, that when those holding this au- 
thority are in the line of their duty, and possess the spirit 
of their calling, their official acts and utterances are as 
valid and as binding as if the Lord himself were present, 
doing and saying what his servants do and say for him. 

This is what it means to bear the Priesthood. It con- 
stitutes men agents of the Almighty, transacting sacred 
business in the interest of the one who sent them. These 
agents should represent their Principal fairly and faith- 
fully, reflecting", as far as possible, his intelligence and 
goodness, living so near to him that when their letter of 
instructions (the written word) falls short, the Spirit that 
indited it, resting upon them as a continual benediction, 
can give "line upon line" of revelation, flash upon flash of 
inspired thought, to illumine and make plain the path they 
are to tread. 

"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon 
by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the -will of 
the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word 
of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power 
of God unto salvation." 



n, D. & C. 13. lb. 128:20. 
o, lb. 68 :4. 



220 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

/ 

No Unrighteous Dominion. — A tremendous power for 
frail mortal man to wield ! Yes, and to guard against its 
abuse, the exercise of this divine prerogative is hedged 
about with certain conditions and limitations. Thus : 

''No power or influence can or ought to be main- 
tained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by 
long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love 
unfeigned ; by kindness and pure knowledge, which shall 
greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without 
guile, reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon 
by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an 
increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest 
he esteem thee to be his enemy."*' 

Again : 

"The rights of the Priesthood are inseparably con- 
nected with the powers of heaven, and . . the powers of 
heaven cannot be controlled or handled only upon the 
principles of righteousness . . . When we undertake to 
cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, 
or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon 
the souls of the children of men, in any degree of un- 
righteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves, 
the Spirit of the Lord is grieved ; and when it is with- 
drawn, Amen to the Priesthood or the authority of that 
man."? 

An Echo From the Heights Eternal, where the Gods, 
in solemn council before the creation of the world, decreed 
freedom, not tyranny ; persuasion, not compulsion ; charity, 
not intolerance, the platform upon which the Lord's serv- 
ants should stand. There is no room in all the Govern- 
ment of God for the exercise of "unrighteous dominion." 



p, D. & C. 121 :41-43. 
q, lb, vv. 36, 37. 



THE PRIESTHOOD 22 i 

The Other Side. — But there is another side to the 
question. If the men bearing this sacred authority con- 
fine themselves to the lawful use of the powers conferred 
upon them, doing no other than the things enjoined by 
divine revelation or inspired by the Holy Spirit — what 
then? In that event the responsibility shifts to other should- 
ers ; and just how weighty the responsibility is, the Savior 
himself shows in his parable of the Last Judgment, where 
is indicated the standard or one of the standards by which 
He will judge the world/ 

Before the Bar of God. — When the Son of Man, sit- 
ting upon "the throne of his glory," shall require of all 
nations and of all men a final accounting, and shall put to 
them the crucial question : "How did you treat my servants 
whom I sent unto you?" happy the nation or the man 
who can reply: "Lord, I showed them the respect to which 
they were entitled — I honored them as I would have 
honored Thee." 

Warning and Exhortation. — Grievous the sin anH 
heavy the penalty incurred by those who mistreat the serv- 
ants of the Master. But more grievous and more weighty 
still, the sin and punishment of those who betray them. 
"See to it," says the Prophet to the Elders of the Church, 
"that ye do not this thing, lest innocent blood be found upon 
your skirts, and you go down to hell. All other sins are 
not to be compared to sinning against the Holy Ghost and 
proving" a traitor to the brethren. " s 

Again that ancient admonition, sounding down the 
centuries, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets 
no harm !" blending with the Savior's solemn 
warning to the world : "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it 
unto Me." 



r, Matt. 25 :21-46. 

s. Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 385. 



ARTICLE TWENTY-NINE. 
Church Government. 

An Incomparable System. — The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints is conceded, even by many out- 
side its pale, to be a most admirable and most thorough sys- 
tem of government. It ought to be ; for it is a product of 
divine wisdom. The Church on Earth is the coun- 
terpart, so far as mortal conditions will permit, of the 
Church in Heaven, as beheld in vision by Joseph the Seer. a 
While the Church founded by him is not yet 
perfect, it is approximately so, and is destined 
to attain that condition. It is doubtful that the 
Church of Christ in any former age had so 
complete an organization as it possesses at the present time. 
This wonderful scheme of spiritual-temporal government 
was revealed from above, and established here below, that 
the Lord's will might be done on earth even as it is done 
in heaven. 

Earliest Offices. — The earliest offices in the Church 
were those of Elder, Priest, Teacher and Deacon ; all, ex- 
cepting Elder, callings in the Aaronic Priesthood. 6 Other 
offices, mostly in the Priesthood of Melchizedek, were 
evolved as fast as they became necessary/ The first Bishops 
were ordained in 1831, the year after the Church was 
organized. There was no First Presidency until 1833, and 
no Stake organization until 1834. The Twelve Apostles and 
their assistants, the Seventies, were not chosen until 1835. 
But all these offices and callings were inherent in the two 



a, D. & C. 76:54; 107:93. 

b, lb. 20:38-64. 

c, Tb. w. 65-67. Note. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT 223 

priesthoods conferred upon the founder of the Church be- 
fore its organization. 

First and Second Elders — Other Titles. — Joseph 
Smith was the first President of the Church. His original 
title was "First Elder ;" Oliver Cowdery being the "Second 
Elder." The initial use of these titles — an anticipative use — 
was by John the Baptist, the angel who ordained Joseph 
and Oliver to the Aaronic Priesthood. He told them of 
their future ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood, and 
of their calling as "Elders" thereunder/ As early as the date 
oi the Church's organization, the titles of Seer, Translator, 
Prophet and Apostle, were conferred upon Joseph, and that 
of Apostle upon Oliver, by revelation/ 

Puerile Complaints. In after years President Joseph 
Smith and his associates were criticised by seceders from 
the Church, because of additions made to the original list 
of offices, as the result of growth and development on 
the part of the infant organization. It was contended that 
since it came into existence with Elders, Priests, Teachers 
and Deacons as its governing powers, and this by divine 
direction, therefore these orders should have been deemed 
sufficient, to the exclusion of High Priest and other titles 
claimed to have been added by "ambitious and spiritually- 
blind" leaders/ 



d, Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, pp. 40, 41, 77, 78. 

e, D. & C. 21:1. 

f, David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of 
Mormon, in a pamphlet published after his excommunication from 
the Church, put forth such a plea. He also found fault with the 
Prophet for receiving revelations without the aid of a seer-stone, 
previously used by him, but laid aside after he had fully mastered his 
gift, which David seems to have regarded as of less consequence 
than the stone, which was no longer needed. — "Address to All True 
Believers in Christ," by David Whitmer, 1881. 



224 PO IVERS AND PRINCIPLES 

Such objections are manifestly puerile. The faultfinders 
would have been no more inconsistent, had they contended 
that a new-born babe should remain a babe, instead of 
growing* up to manhood or womanhood and fulfilling the 
measure of its creation. 

The Correct View. — President George A. Smith, in 
speaking of the progress of the Church, was fond of using, 
as a comparison, the growth of a hill of corn — first, a single 
blade of green shooting up from the soil; then two or three 
such blades ; and afterwards a stalk, with ears of corn and 
silken tassels pendant. One who made no allowance for the 
growth of the "hill," might be mystified at beholding it in 
these various stages of development; but those familiar with 
the changes incidental to such an evolution would see the 
matter in a clear light. 

Greater Follows Lesser. — What more consistent, 
more in harmony with correct principle and historical 
precedent, than for the greater to follow the lesser, as when 
the Melchizedek Priesthood came to Joseph and Oliver, 
after their ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood? The lesser 
prepares the way before the greater. But according to the 
logic of the Prophet's critics, that first ordination should 
have been all-sufficient; there should have been no second 
ordination, and no further development of the Lord's 
work. It ought to have halted then and there, when the 
keys of the Lesser Priesthood w.ere given. But the Lord 
knew best, and his inspired servants knew. There was to 
be, and there has been, a great and mighty development, as 
the present status of the Church testifies. It has had a won- 
derful history and a marvelous growth. Never so strong or 
so well equipped as now, its future is bright with glorious 
promise. • 

Offices in the Aaronic Priesthood. — The offices of 
the Aaronic Priesthood, graded upward, are Deacon, 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT 225 

Teacher and Priest. The presidency of this priesthood is 
the Bishopric. The Bishop has charge of the Church prop- 
erty. He receives and disburses, under the direction of the 
higher authorities, the tithes and offerings of the people. A 
Presiding Bishopric of three have general charge of the 
funds provided for the support of the poor, for the build- 
ing of temples, for the creation and maintenance of schools, 
and for other purposes. The Church's general financial 
records are also in their keeping. A bishop must be a lineal 
descendant of Aaron — in which event he can serve without 
counselors — or else a high priest after the order of Mel- 
chizedek,* having as his counselors two other high priests 
of that order. Under the jurisdiction of the Presiding 
Bishopric, in temporal matters, are the ward bishoprics. 

Wards and Stakes. — The Ward is a division of the 
Stake, as the Stake is a division of the Church. A stake, 
in territorial extent, frequently corresponds to a county, 
though in populous districts one county may contain sev- 
eral stakes. There are four stakes in Salt Lake City. Each 
stake has a presidency of three, and a high council of 
twelve, and these have jurisdiction over all members and 
organizations in the stake, including the ward bishoprics. 
Each of the latter constitutes a tribunal for the trial of 
members who transgress the church laws and regulations. 
From the decision of the Bishop's Court, either party in a 
case may appeal to the High Council, and from a decision 
of this appellate court an appeal may be taken to the First 
Presidency. They review the evidence, and if any injustice 
has been done, the case is remanded for a new trial. If a 
President of the Church were tried, it would be before "The 
Common Council of the Church," assisted by "twelve 
counselors of the high priesthood. " h The extreme penalty 



g, D. & C. 68:14-21; 107:16, 17, 69-76. 
h, lb. 107:82. 
15 



126 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

imposed by any of the Church tribunals is excommunica- 
tion. 

Administration of Ordinances. — The Aaronic Priest- 
hood administers in outward ordinances, such as baptism, 
and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The higher ordin- 
ances — confirmations, sealings, adoptions, and other tem- 
ple ceremonies — must be administered by the Priesthood 
of Melchizedek. 

Offices in the High Priesthood — Quorums and Coun- 
cils. — The Melchizedek Priesthood comprises, in an 
ascending scale, the offices of Elder, Seventy and High 
Priest. The Patriarch, the Apostle, and the President must 
all be high priests after this order. Each specific body of 
priesthood is called a quorum, though most of the general 
priesthood organizations are termed councils. 

The General Authorities. — The highest council in 
the Church is, the First Presidency. It is composed of three 
high priests, one of whom is the President, the others being 
his First and Second counselors. These three preside over 
the entire Church. The President is its Prophet, Seer and 
Revelator, and also its Trustee-in-Trust, holding the legal 
title to its property. 

Next to the First Presidency are the Twelve Apostles. 
Their special calling is to preach the Gospel or to have it 
preached, in all nations. The Twelve are equal in author- 
ity to the First Presidency, but they exercise the fulness of 
their powers only in the absence of the higher council. 
They have the right to regulate and set in order the whole 
Church, but they act under the direction of the First 
Presidency. The death of the President dissolves that coun- 
cil, and makes necessary a new organization thereof. The 
Apostles nominate the President, who then chooses his 
Counselors, and the three are upheld and sustained by the 
Church in its public assemblies, called conferences. 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT 227 

The duty of the Presiding Patriarch is to bless the 
Church, give individual blessings to its members, and com- 
fort them with spiritual ministrations. He also assists the 
Apostles in visiting conferences and missions, and perform- 
ing other duties as required. 

The First Council of the Seventy, seven in number, 
preside over the entire body of the Seventies. These, how- 
ever, are divided into quorums of seventy, each quorum 
having seven presidents of its own. In the absence of the 
First Presidency and the Twelve, the First Council of the 
Seventy would preside over the Church, associated with 
sixty-three others, the senior presidents of the first sixty- 
three quorums of seventy. The Seventies labor under the 
direction of the Twelve Apostles. They are independent of 
the stake presidencies and bishoprics, as quorums, but not 
as individual members. They are the "minute men" of the 
Church, subject to sudden calls into the mission field. 

The First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, the Pre- 
siding Patriarch, the First Council of the Seventy, and 
the Presiding Bishopric, constitute the General Authorities 
of the Church. Their names are submitted to the General 
Conference, held twice a year, to be voted upon by the 
members. They are also presented at the stake conferences, 
held quarterly, to be voted upon, with the stake officers, in 
like manner. 

High Priests, Patriarchs and Elders. — Each Stake 
has a quorum of high priests, indefinite in number, pre- 
sided over by three of its members. The High Priesthood 
holds the inherent right of presidency. All the general au- 
thorities, excepting the First Council of the Seventy, must 
be high priests ; and the same is true of stake presidencies 
and ward bishoprics. In each stake are one or more 
patriarchs, performing, when active, duties similar to those 
cf the Presiding Patriarch. 



228 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

A Stake has one or more quorums of Elders, each com- 
posed of ninety-six members, three of whom preside. Each 
ward should have one or more quorums of priests (forty- 
eight), teachers (twenty- four), and deacons (twelve), each 
with a presidency of three. The ward bishopric presides 
in a general way over all the quorums of the Aaronic 
Priesthood in the ward, and over all church members, as 
individuals, residing therein. The bishop of the ward is ex- 
officio president of the priest's quorum. The Elder's of- 
fice is the lowest in the Melchizedek Priesthood. The 
dudes of an elder are similar to those of a seventy, though 
intended to be exercised more at home than abroad. 

The Lesser Quorums. — The highest office in the 
Aaronic Priesthood, except bishop, is that of priest. The 
bishop, however, is a priest, and officiates as such when 
sitting as a judge ; when presiding over his ward, it is by 
virtue of the higher priesthood held by him. The priest 
may preach, baptize and administer the Sacrament, but has 
not the right to lay on hands and give the Holy Ghost ; that 
being a function of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 

The teacher is a peacemaker. He settles, "difficulties 
arising between church members in his district ; or, if he 
cannot settle them, he reports them to the bishop. Two or 
more teachers labor regularly in each of the districts into 
which a ward is divided. It is incumbent upon them to 
visit from house to house, to see that no iniquity exists 
among the members, and that they are attentive to their 
religious duties. The teachers report monthly, or as often 
as required, to the ward bishopric. The deacons have 
charge of the ward property, and they assist the teachers, 
as the teachers assist the priests. 

Auxiliaries — Church Schools. All the organizations 
named are strictly within the pale of the Priest- 
hood. In addition, there are a number of auxiliary 



CHURCH GOVERNMENT 229 

organizations — helps to the Priesthood in the government 
of the Church — such as relief societies, Sabbath schools, 
young peoples' mutual improvement associations, primary 
associations, and religion classes. Church schools, of 
which the religion classes are an adjunct, exist in many 
of the stakes. The more notable of the schools are the 
Brigham Young University at Provo, the Brigham Young 
College at Logan, and the Latter-day Saints University 
at Salt Lake City. For the maintenance of its splendid 
educational system, the Church makes an appropriation 
of nearly three quarters of a million dollars, annually. All 
branches of learning find place in the curricula of these 
institutions, -but religion is the principal feature; the object 
being to develop the spiritual, as well as the mental, phy- 
sical, and moral faculties of the student — in short, "to make 
Latter-day Saints."* 

The Present Status. — At the period of this writing 
there are eighty-five Stakes of Zion, all located in the region 
of the Rocky Mountains. The Church's twenty-four outside 
missions comprise most of the countries of the globe. The 
Latter-day Saints, in all the world, number about half a mil- 
lion. 



i, For further information on Priesthood and Church Govern- 
ment, the reader is referred to Sections 20, 68, 84, 107, 112 and 
114, Doctrine and Covenants ; also to Volume 3, p. 385« and Vol. 
4, p. 207, History of the Church. 



ARTICLE THIRTY. 

The Law of Obedience. 

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in Heaven before the 
foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predi- 
cated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by 
obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." — Joseph 
Smith. 

Pope and His Proverb. — "Order is heaven's first 
law," said Alexander Pope; & and many have accepted the 
poet's dictum as final. It sounds well, but is it true? Presi- 
dent George Q. Cannon denied its truth, affirming order 
to be an effect rather than a cause, a result flowing from 
obedience, without which order would be impossible. Obed- 
ience, he maintained, is heaven's first law, and the order 
that reigns there, a condition consequent. Manifestly this 
is a correct position. 

Human and Divine Government. — That obedience is 
essential to order, must be apparent even to a casual ob- 
server of the every-day life of men and nations. All gov- 
ernments demand from their people obedience to the laws 
enacted for the general welfare. Without it there would 
be no peace, no protection. Confusion would prevail, and 
anarchy reign supreme. This is readily conceded by most 
men as to human governments ; but some think it strange 
that divine government should be administered upon like 
principles, and for similar though higher ends. 

Aliens Must Be Naturalized. — A friend of mine, 
somewhat of a skeptic, asked me : "Why must I belong to a 
church, or subscribe to a creed, or undergo any particular 



a, D. & C. 130:20, 21. 

b, "Essay on Man," Epis. 4, line 49. 



THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE 231 

ceremony, in order to be saved ? I have always done what I 
thought was right — have been truthful, honest, virtuous 
and benevolent. Why is that not enough? Why will it not 
suffice to make my peace with God and pave my way to 
Heaven ?" 

I answered : "Suppose you were an alien, born in some 
country of Europe, or on some island of the sea, and you 
came to America desiring to become a citizen of the United 
States. When told that you must declare your intentions, 
take out naturalization papers, forswear allegiance to any 
foreign power, and honor and uphold the Constitution and 
laws of this Republic, suppose you were to reply: Why, 
what is the need of all that? I am a good man; I have al- 
ways acted honorably; am clean, moral and upright in 
conduct and conversation. Why is that not sufficient to 
entitle me to vote, to hold office, take up land, and enjoy 
all the rights and privileges of an American freeman? Do 
you think such a plea would avail? No, you do not. You 
see its inconsistency as quickly as the Government would 
see it and reject your application. You would not expect to 
become a citizen of the United States on your own terms. 
Why, then, should you hope for admittance into the King- 
dom of Heaven upon any conditions other than those which 
the King himself has laid down?" 

b Man's Proper Attitude. — Men must not count upon 
their personal qualities, when applying for citizenship in 
the Eternal Commonwealth. The proper attitude is one 
of humility, not self-righteousness. The Pharisee who prayed, 
thanking the Lord that he was better than other men, was 
less justified than the Publican who also prayed, but in a 
different spirit, meekly murmuring : "God be merciful to me, 
a sinner. " c A disposition to laud self, or dictate the terms 



c, Luke 18:10-14. 



232 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

upon which one is willing to be blest, is anything but 
modest, anything but reasonable. Truthfulness, honesty, 
virtue, benevolence — these are precious qualities, treasures 
enriching the soul under all conditions, inside or outside the 
Kingdom of Heaven. But they are not valuable enough to 
purchase a passport into that Kingdom. They go far, but 
not far enough to secure salvation. 

Better Than Sacrifice. — "To obey is better than sac- 
rifice." So said obedient Samuel to disobedient Saul/ 
Abraham's willingness to obey, when the Lord commanded 
him to offer up Isaac, was accepted in lieu of the offer- 
ing. A literal sacrifice was not necessary in that case ; but 
the offer to make it was necessary ; for thus was sym- 
bolized the most important event in all history — the offer- 
ing by the Eternal Father of his beloved Son for the re- 
demption of the fallen human race. The Patriarch's will- 
ingness having been shown, the Lord, who had directed 
Abraham to offer up his son, sent an angel with the 
countermanding order: "Lay not thine hand upon the lad."* 
The offering had been accepted, and he who made it was 
rewarded as abundantly as if the sacrifice had been con- 
summated. 

Dead Letter and Living Oracle. — But what if Abra- 
ham, when commanded to offer up his son, had refused, 
citing in support of his position the divine law against homi- 
cide, a law dating from the time of Cain and Abel — would 
that have justified him? No ; God's word is his law, and the 
word last spoken by him must have precedence over any 
earlier revelation on the same subject. If Abraham, after 
being forbidden to slay his son, had fanatically persisted 
in slaying him, he would have been a transgressor, just 
as much as if he had^ refused to obey in the first instance. 



d, 1 Sam. 15:22. 

e, Gen. 22:12. 



THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE 233 

After receiving the second command, he could not con- 
sistently plead that he was under obligation to carry out 
the first. Had he done so, he would have placed himself 
in a false position, that of honoring the dead letter above 
the living oracle. : ? 

The Will for the Deed. — Let me give this principle 
another application. A soldier goes forth to fight the bat- 
tles of his country, goes with a willing heart, offering his 
life that justice may prevail and freedom endure. Having 
done his duty, he returns unscathed from the conflict where 
many went down to death. Is not his offering as acceptable 
as that of his comrade who makes what is called "the su- 
preme sacrifice ?" He certainly offers as much, the only dif- 
ference being that not as much of his offering is taken. 

All honor to those who, during the dreadful war of 
recent years, perished in the blood-soaked trenches, or fell 
ir. the open field with, Prussian or Austrian bullets in their 
breasts ! All honor to those who met death by accident or 
disease, in training camp or at battle-front, on land or on 
sea, losing their lives while faithfully playing their pare 
in the great world tragedy ! Heroes, every one ! But the 
gallant fellows who lived through it all, patiently endur- 
ing hardships and privations, dying daily by anticipation, 
and by willingness to sacrifice all for the common good- 
be it not forgotten that in spirit they gave as much as any ; 
and the fact that their offering was not taken, does not 
discount the motive that actuated them, nor diminish the 
credit due. "As his part is that goeth down to the battle, 
so shall his part be that tarrieth by . the stuff ; they shall 
part alike. "f 

The Just and the Unjust. — All blessings come by obe- 
dience. When the Savior said of the Father: "He maketh 

f, 1 Sam. 30:24. 



234 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
rain on the just and on the unjust."^ he did not mean that 
no distinction is made between the two classes. He meant 
that the Great Judge is just to both — just even to the un- 
just, sending to them his rain and his sunshine, causing 
their orchards to bloom and their vineyards to bear equally 
with those of the righteous, provided similar conditions 
surround, and both classes are equally obedient to the laws 
governing the culture of the soil. 

They Kept the First Estate. — But rain and sunshine, 
like all other blessings, are for those who merit them. 
If the unjust (unjust here) had not "kept their first 
estate," had not manifested in a previous life some de- 
gree of obedience! to divine law, they would not have 
been given a "second estate," would not have been placed 
where the sunlight and the showers could reach them. 

Obedience Must Continue. — In this life, however, 
further obedience is necessary,, in order that greater 
blessings may come. God's gifts are both spiritual and 
temporal ; but whatever they are, their bestowal is regu- 
lated by the great Law of Obedience. A good man may 
be a poor farmer, and thus fail to raise the full crop 
that he might have reaped had he been more skillful or 
more thorough in the practice of his vocation. On the 
other hand, a bad man may be an expert tiller of the 
soil, realizing bounteous returns because of his strict ob- 
servance of the law in that particular department of in- 
dustry. 

Higher Laws and Higher Blessings. — There are 
greater blessings, however, than those pertaining to the 
harvest field and the workshop, and they also are to be 
had only by obedience to the laws governing their bestowal 

g, Matt. 5:45. 



THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE 235 

and distribution. One cannot become a member of the 
Church of Christ by being a successful merchant or stock- 
raiser; and one may hold church membership, yet not be 
entitled to the privileges^, of the Temple. It takes more than 
the skill of a mechanic to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 
There is but one way into that kingdom, and he who tries 
to pick the lock or climb over the wall, will be treated as 
a trespasser or a robber. 

Rod and Rock. — Obedience is the rod of power which 
smites the rock of divine resource, causing it to flow with 
the waters of human weal. And the most obedient are the 
most blest. There are "many mansions" in the great House 
of God, and the highest are for those who render unto 
the Master of the House the fulness of their obedience. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-ONE. 

The Divine Doorway. 

The Most Important Personage. — What particular 
acts of obedience are required from man, in order that the 
One who redeemed may likewise, save and exalt him? 
What must he do for himself, to the end that he may 
profit by the great things done in his behalf? In other 
words, how shall the alien seeking citizenship in the King- 
dom of Heaven, obtain it? What are the divine laws of 
naturalization? The one who can answer such questions, is 
easily the most important personag'e of his time. Such a 
one was Peter, the Galilean fisherman, chief of the twelve 
special witnesses of the Savior. 

The Pentecostal Proclamation. — When Peter, on the 
Day of Pentecost, preached "Christ and him crucified," and 
the conscience-stricken multitude," pricked in their heart," 
cried out, "men and brethren, what shall we do?" a ques- 
tion was propounded which the most learned philosophers 
of that age could not answer. Ceasar, sitting upon the 
throne of the world, would have been mystified had the 
question been put to him — What shall men do to be saved? 
Not so, the Galilean fisherman. He knew, and he told 
them straightway : 

"Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name 
of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall re- 
ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost. " a 

The Gospel Unchangeable. — These requirements have 
not changed. They are in force today. They will remain 
in force so long as the Gospel is preached. The Apostle 

a, Acts 2:38. 



THE DIVINE DOORWAY 237 

did not say that these were all the requirements. But he 
answered the question put to him, and it was the appro- 
priate and sufficient reply for that occasion. 

In the Pit. — When Adam and Eve had transgressed 
the divine command by partaking of the forbidden fruit, 
it was as if the human race had fallen into a pit, from 
which they were powerless, by any act of their own, to 
emerge. They could not climb out, for they knew not how 
tc climb ; and even if they had known, there was no means 
by which to ascend. Human endeavor,, unassisted, could ac- 
complish nothing in the way of deliverance. Man in his 
mortal condition needed revelation^ spiritual enlighten- 
ment, having forgotten all that he had previously known. 
He also needed a ladder. 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ladder to Freedom 
and Light. Without it there is no salvation, no exaltation. 
The Tower of Babel symbolizes the situation. All man's 
efforts to reach Heaven without divine assistance, must 
end in confusion and failure. 

Self-Help Necessary. — Before there was a Ladder, or 
while it was not within reach, fallen man could not 
climb. All his intelligence and skill were unavailing. But 
the ladder having been let down, if he will use his God- 
given powers and all the means provided for the pur- 
pose, he can mount from Earth to Heaven, round by 
round. If he refuses to climb, who but himself is to blame 
for his remaining at the bottom of the pit? The Gospel is 
not a substitute for self-help. It does not supersede man's 
efforts in his own behalf. It is the divinely appointed 
means whereby those efforts are made effectual. It does 
for man what he cannot do for himself. 

Redemption by Grace. — The Gospel of Salvation rests 
upon the rock of Christ's Atonement — an act of grace, a 
free gift from God to man, to the wicked as well as to 



238 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

the righteous. All profit by it, for through that atonement, 
all are brought forth from the grave. This is eminently 
just. Adam's posterity were consigned to death for no 
deed of their own doing. It is fitting, therefore, that 
their redemption should be unconditional. 

Salvation by Obedience. — But redemption is not sal- 
vation, nor salvation exaltation. Men must "work out" 
their salvation, & and gain exaltation by continuous upward 
striving. Depending primarily upon the grace of God, sal- 
vation and exaltation are likewise the fruits of man's ac- 
ceptance of the Gospel, and of his steadfast adherence 
thereto, until it shall have done for him its perfect work. 

The First Requirement. — Faith is the first require- 
ment of the Gospel. "He that believeth and is baptized 
shall be saved." So the Savior declared, when he commis- 
sioned his Apostles to "go into all the world and preach 
the Gospel to every creature. " c Peter's Pentecostal ser- 
mon omitted faith from the list of essentials, doubtless 
for the reason that those whom the Apostle addressed 
already had faith, a fact plainly shown by the question put 
to him. Evidently they believed what he had told them 
about the crucified Redeemer; else they would not have 
been "pricked in their heart," and would not have anxiously 
inquired, "What shall we do?" 

In like manner, the Savior, when making his condi- 
tional promise of salvation, left out repentance, it being 
implied, virtually included, in the admonition to believe 
and be baptized ; since baptism is "for the remission of 
sins" — sins of which man has repented. Faith, not re- 
pentance, is the first essential — the initial requirement made 
of the seeker for salvation. 



b, Phil. 2:12. 

c, Mark 16:15, 16. 



THE DIVINE DOORWAY 239 

The Second Step. — The first fruit of faith is repent- 
ance. It follows faith as naturally as kindness follows love, 
as obedience springs from reverence, as a desire to be 
congenial with, suceeds admiration for, one whose example 
is deemed worthy of emulation. God commands all men 
to repent; and a desire to please him and become ac- 
ceptable in his sight, naturally leads the soul of faith to 
repentance. 

"Sin No More/' — Repentance is not that superficial 
sorrow felt by the wrongdoer when "caught in the act" — 
a sorrow not for sin, but for sin's detection. Chagrin is 
not repentance. Mortification and shame alone bring no 
change of heart toward right feeling and right living. 
Even remorse is not all there is to repentance. In highest 
meaning and fullest measure, repentance is equivalent to 
reformation ; the beginning of the reformatory process 
being a resolve to "sin no more." "By this ye may know 
that a man repenteth of his sins : Behold he will confess 
them and forsake them." d 

What is Sin? — Sin is the transgression of divine law, 
as made known through the conscience or by revelation. 
A man sins when he violates his conscience, going 
contrary to light and knowledge — not the light and knowl- 
edge that has come to his neighbor, but that which has 
come to himself. He sins when he does the opposite of 
what he knows to be right. Up to that point he only 
blunders. One may suffer painful consequences for only 
blundering, but he cannot commit sin unless he knows bet- 
ter than to do the thing in which the sin consists. One 
must have a conscience before he can violate it. "Where 
there is no law given, there is no punishment ... no con- 

d, D. & C. 58:43. 



240 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

demnation."* "He that knoweth not good from; evil is 
blameless."^ 

Degrees of Damnation. — Souls who know that they 
have sinned, and who refuse to forsake their sins, will be 
damned. They damn themselves by that refusal. Damna- 
tion is no part of the Gospel. It is simply the sad alterna- 
tive, the inevitable consequence of rejecting the offer of 
salvation. Damnation ( condemnation)! is not necessarily 
permanent, and it may exist in degrees, the degree being de- 
termined by the measure of culpability in the one con- 
demned. Even the damned can be saved if they repent. 

The Sin Unpardonable. — It is possible, however, to 
sin so far and so deeply that repentance is impossible. 
Shakespeare puts into the mouth of one of his characters 
— the guilty King Claudius — this speech : 

"Try what repentance can: what can it not? 
Yet what can it when one cannot repent ?"£ 

Those who cannot repent are sons of perdition. Their 
sin is unpardonable, involving utter recreancy to divine 
light and power previously possessed. 

The Washing of Regeneration. — Sin must not only 
be repented of ; it must be blotted out. The soul must be 
cieansed of it. Baptism is the soul-cleansing process, the 
divinely instituted means whereby sins are remitted — that 
is, forgiven and washed away. Immersion in water, sym- 
bolizing birth, or burial and resurrection, is the true form 
of the baptismal ordinance. Baptism is the third principle 
of the Gospel. 

Divine Illumination. — The soul cleansed from sin is in 
a condition to enjoy the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, 



e, 2 Nephi 9 :25. 

f, Alma 29:5. 

g, Hamlet, Act. 3, Scene 3. 



THE DIVINE DOORWAY 241 

which "dwelleth not in unclean tabernacles." Through this 
precious gift comes the divine light that "leads into all 
truth," making manifest the things of God, past, present, 
and to come. There is a light that illumines, in greater 
or less degree, every soul that cometh into the world; 
but the Gift of the Holy Ghost, imparted by the laying 
on of hands of one divinely authorized to bestow it, is a 
special endowment,' and only those) having membership 
in the Church of Christ can possess it. Each is thus given 
a direct personal testimony of the Truth, and is founded 
upon the Rock of Revelation, against which the Gates of 
Hell cannot prevail. 

Gospel Principles Eternal. — The Everlasting Gospel is 
not an empty phrase. It means just what it says. The prin- 
ciples underlying it are eternal. "Intelligence or the light 
of truth was not created or made, neither indeed can be. ,,/l 
The same is true of faith and repentance. God did not 
make them. They are self-existent. Such ordinances as 
baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the 
laying <on of hands for the gift (giving) of the Holy 
Ghost, might indeed be created, and doubtless were ; but 
not the fundamental facts upon which they are based. It 
did not require a divine edict to make washing (baptism) 
a prerequisite to cleanliness; nor light (the Holy Spirit) 
the means of illumination. 

A code or system of laws and ordinances can readily 
be conceived of as a creation. Not so the principles embodied 
therein. The Gospel, like all other creations, was organized 
out of materials already in existence — eternal principles 
adapted to the needs of man and the purposes of Deity. 



h, D. & C. 93:29. 

16 



24 2 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

The Supreme Intelligence, recognizing these ' principles as 
ennobling and exalting in their tendency, created a plan 
embodying them as the most effectual means for man's 
uplift and promotion. That plan, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 
is the divinely appointed doorway into the Kingdom of 
Heaven. t 



ARTICLE THIRTY-TWO. 

The Second Birth. 

The Edict of the King. — "Except a man be born 
again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." 

"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." a 

So said the King of that Kingdom, the only one em- 
powered to prescribe conditions upon which men may 
become his subjects, or his fellow citizens in the Eternal 
Commonwealth. Nicodemus, to whom Jesus spoke those 
words, was a ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee, and, as some 
suppose, a member of the Sanhedrin, or supreme Jewish 
council. Favorably inclined toward the unpopular Naza- 
rene, yet too politic to be seen associating with him openly, 
this man sought him out by night, avowing a belief that 
he was "a teacher come from God."- In response to this 
confession of faith, Jesus taught Nicodemus the doctrine 
of baptism. i 

A Subject of Controversy. — The meaning of the lan- 
guage in which the teaching was conveyed, though per- 
fectly plain to Christians anciently, has been a matter of 
uncertainty to their successors all down the centuries. 
From the days of the early Greek fathers of the Christian 
Church, to the days of St. Augustine, the great theolo- 
gian of the Western or Roman Catholic division of that 
Church ; from his time to the time of Luther and Calvin, 
and thence on into the present age, men have disputed 
over the mystical Second Birth, declared by the World's 

a, John 3 :3, 5. 



244 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

Redeemer to be the portal of admittance into his King- 
dom. 

Over the general meaning of the phrase, "Born of 
Water and of the Spirit," there may have been no serious 
contention. In all or most of the Christian denominations, 
it means baptism, the ordinance whereby a person is initiat- 
ed into the Church. But the meaning of baptism, the sig- 
nificance, form, purpose and effects of the ordinance, and 
whether or not it is necessary to salvation — these questions 
have furnished the backbone of the controversy; questions 
easily answered, problems readily solved, if the Holy 
Spirit be taken for a guide, and there be no wresting of the 
scriptures. 

The Savior's Example. — The words of Jesus to Nico- 

demus ought to set at rest the question of necessity. But as 
a clincher we have the Savior's declaration regarding his 
own baptism. Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan to be 
baptized by John. The Baptist, deeming himself unworthy 
of that high honor, demurred, saying: "I have need to 
be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" Jesus, an- 
swering, said : "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh 
us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him." & 

Now, if at was becoming in the Son of God to be 
baptized, it is becoming in all who follow in his footsteps 
and hope to be with him hereafter. They must be baptized 
with the baptism that he was baptized with — the baptism of 
water and of the Spirit, received by him at the river Jor- 
dan nearly two thousand years ago. 

King and Subject. — There are those who contend that 
the baptism of Jesus was all-sufficient ; that it answered 
for the whole human race, thereby obviating the necessity 
of baptism in general. To all such I put this question Can 

b, Matt. 3:13. 



THE SECOND BIRTH 245 

you conceive of a kingdom in which the king is required 
to obey the laws ordained for its government, while the 
subjects arq not required to obey them? Far more likely, is 
it not, that the king, rather than the subject, would be ex- 
empt from such obedience ? But the "laws of Christ's King- 
dom are just and impartial. They bear with equal pressure 
upon all. The Son doeth nothing but what he hath seen the 
Father do, c nor does he require from men an obedience that 
he himself is not willing to render. "Follow Me," is the 
watchword of his mission. 

"To Fulfil All Righteousness." — True, baptism is "for 
the remission of sins,' M and in the: Savior there was no sin 
to remit. Why, then, was he baptized? John saw this point, 
when Jesus presented himself for baptism ; and that, no 
doubt, was one reason why he demurred to the request. 
We cannot impute sin to the Sinless, but we are in duty 
bound to accept and obey his instruction. He did not say: 
Thus it becometh Me to fulfill all righteousness. He 
put it in the plural, thus giving it general application. 

Baptism Not Done Away. — Christ's baptism, whether 
for original sin — the sin of the world, which he had as- 
sumed — or purely as an example, did not do away with bap- 
tism, any more than his endurance of the pangs of Adam's 
race* obviated human suffering. Men and women still suf- 
fer, notwithstanding that infinite atonement. All must be 
baptized for the remission of their own sins, notwithstand- 
ing the baptism of "the Lamb of God which taketh away 
the sin of the world.'^ 

Exempt From Baptism. — Little children, too young 
to have sinned, and therefore without need of repentance, 



c, John 5:19. 

d, Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38. 

e, 2 Nephi 9:21, 22. 

f, John 1 :29. 



246 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

are exempt from baptism, and it is a sin to baptize them, 
involving as it does the vain use of a sacred ordinance^ 
Redeemed by the blood of Christ from the foundation of 
the world, their innocence and purity are typical of the 
saved condition of men and women, who must become like 
them before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. As chil- 
dren advance in years, however, they become account- 
able, and must then yield obedience to the requirements of 
the Gospel. /l Eight years is the recognized age of account- 
ability in the Church of Christ.* 

Redeemed Without Law. — There is another class 
mentioned in sacred writ, for whom, in the language of 
the Book of Mormon, "baptism availeth nothing." The 
"heathen nations," who "died without law," are to be "re- 
deemed without law/ and shall "have part in the first 
resurrection."' These, however, are not heirs celestial. 
Theirs is "the glory of the terrestrial" in the great King- 
dom of the Future. 

Vicarious Ministrations. — So necessary is baptism, on 
the part of all capable of intelligent obedience, that 
the Gospel makes provision for the vicarious baptism of 
those who pass away without undergoing this ordinance for 
themselves. Work of this character, when divinely au- 
thorized, is acceptable to the Lord; a fact that should oc- 
casion little wonder in Christian minds, when it is re- 
membered that the whole fabric of Christianity rests upon 
the vicarious work wrought by Jesus Christ for the redemp- 
tion of a world powerless to redeem itself. Men cannot 
answer by proxy for the deeds done in the body, but there 



g, Moroni 8:8-10, 19, 22. 

h, Moses 6:55. 

t, D. & C. 68:25-27. 

;, Mosiah 3:11; Moroni 8:22; D. & C. 45:54; lb. 76:72. 



THE SECOND BIRTH 247 

have always been sacred ceremonies that one person might 
perform for another. Baptism is among them.* 1 

For the Remission of Sins. — Baptism is the divinely 
instituted process whereby sins are remitted. All men have 
sinned, and in order to bring them back into God's pure 
presence, where nothing sinful can come, it is necessary 
that they be first cleansed from sin. Water baptism is the 
beginning of the cleansing process. 

Means and Accessories. — Water, in and of itself, 
cannot wash away sin ; but obedience, typified by the water, 
can and does, when the ordinance is lawfully and prop- 
erly administered/ The case of Naaman the Syrian, 
cleansed of leprosy by dipping seven times in the river 
Jordan, is often cited as an illustration.™ It was not the 
water that cured Naaman, but his obedience to the Prophet 
who had told him to dip seven times in that particular 
stream. Had he dipped in any other stream, or any other 
number of times but just seven, his disease would still 
have clung to him. But he did as he had been directed, 
and his faith, manifested by his obedience, worked the 
cure, bringing down the power of God for that purpose. 
The water was only the medium through which the power 
operated. Likewise, when Christ anointed the eyes of the 
blind man with clay, causing him to see, it was faith that 
wrought the miracle, not the clay, which was only an ac- 
cessory. It is the same with consecrated oil, as used in the 
healing ordinance of the Church.'" 

Effect of Baptism. — Baptism cleanses and illumines 
the soul, and it is by water and by Spirit that the cleans- 
ing and illumination come. They are indispensable in the 



k, I Cor. 15 :29. 
I, Moses 6:60. 
m, 2 Kings 5 : 1-14. 
n, James 5:14, 15. 



248 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

process. The sick can be healed without the use of con- 
secrated oil, or even without the laying on of hands. But 
no sinner can be baptized — cleansed and illumined — with- 
out the water and the Spirit. 

Children in Christ. — The effect of baptism is to make 
men and women childlike — not in ignorance, nor in weak- 
ness, but in innocence and humility. "Of such is the King- 
dom of Heaven." By baptism, following faith and re- 
pentance and administered by divine authority, the soul 
is "born again," and is typical, in its infant-like purity, of 
the soul raised to immortality. By baptism we are as ef- 
fectually freed from sin, as by death, burial and resurrec- 
tion, the mortal is changed to immortal and' ushered into 
a new existence. Hence, baptism is termed "the washing 
of regeneration." Regeneration means "new birth." 

Early Christian Views, — The earliest Christians did 
not doubt the necessity of baptism. On the contrary, they 
strongly insisted upon it, as indispensable to a saved con- 
dition. During the Patristic age — that of the post-apostolic 
Fathers — the conviction that no soul could be saved with- 
out baptism was so firm that it led to pedobaptism — the 
baptism of infants — and to other innovations upon the 
primitive faith. It was seen that infants could not believe 
in Christ, nor repent of sins that they had not committed ; 
but it was held that the Church, or those who stood sponsor 
for the little ones, could believe for them, and they were 
baptized for original sin, the sin of Adam, which they 
were supposed to have inherited. Peter's words in promis- 
ing the Holy Ghost, "For the promise is unto you and to 
your children." were construed to sustain infant baptism. 
It was even assumed that the Savior authorized it in say- 
ing, "Suffer little children to come unto me." 

o, Acts 2:39. 



THE SECOND BIRTH 249 

Pedobaptism. — Holders of such views have never ex- 
plained why infant baptism did not become prevalent until 
two or three centuries after Christ ; and why such eminent 
Christians of the fourth century as Gregory of Nazianzum, 
the son of a bishop ; Basil the Great of Cappadocia ; 
Chrysostom of Antioch, and Augustine of Numida — 
whose mothers were pious Christians — were not baptized 
until they were over thirty years of age, Paul's affirma- 
tion that "children are holy,"^ and the Savior's declaration, 
"Of such is the kingdom of God," 5 "are a sufficient answer 
to the assumption that children under the age of account- 
ability have need to be baptized. Those who introduced 
the practice of baptizing infants for original sin, over- 
looked or were blind to the fact that Christ atoned for 
original guilt, and that men are accountable for their 
own sins and not for Adam's transgression. 

Other Innovations. — One innovation led to another. 
Martyrs who had shed their blood in defense of the Church, 
or for its sake, but had never confessed Christ nor been 
baptized — what of them? For their benefit another doc- 
trine was introduced. They were held to have been baptized 
in their own blood. Finally, out of deference to the claims 
of a far more numerous class—worthy men and women, 
many of whom had lived and died before the Christian 
Church was founded, while others, though living con- 
temporaneously with it, were never reached by its mis- 
sionaries — the idea gradually obtained that baptism was not 
essential to salvation. All this might have been obviated, 
and the Church spared much ridicule and skepticism, the 
result of its rambling inconsistencies, had it kept the key 
to the situation — Baptism for the Dead. 



p, 1 Cor. 7:14. 

q, Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16. 



250 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

Gradual Growth of a Heresy. — The idea that baptism 
is non-essential did not become fixed and popular until 
many centuries after the Apostles "fell asleep." Saint 
Augustine, who figured in the latter part of the fourth 
and in the first half of the fifth century after Christ, and 
who advanced the notion that water baptism was "the out- 
ward sign of an inward grace," held, nevertheless, that no 
soul could be saved without it — not even infants ; though 
their condemnation, resulting from non-baptism, would be 
of the mildest character. Augustine's concept of baptism, 
with some modifications, is the doctrine of the Roman 
Catholic Church and of the orthodox Protestant churches 
at the present time. Luther held baptism to be essential to 
salvation ; Calvin and Zwingli did not ; and there, in the 
sixteenth century, it appears, began the schism of opinion 
concerning it that divides Christendom today. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-THREE. 
Meaning And Mode Of Baptism. 

The Lesser Suggests the Greater. — When Jesus told 
Nicodemus that man must be born of Water and of the 
Spirit, he virtually declared the meaning of baptism and 
prescribed the mode of its administration. It was to pre- 
pare the way before a greater principle, that Christ taught 
and exemplified the principle of baptism. He compared it 
to birth, the entry into mortal life ; and this pointed to 
resurrection, the entry into immortal glory. 

Men's minds, therefore, should be ready to receive 
something suggestive of birth and resurrection, in the 
ceremony authorized by the Son of God as the means of 
admission into his Kingdom. This suggestion is fully 
realized in the true form) of the baptismal ordinance, name- 
ly, immersion — going down into the water and coming up 
out of the water, in the similitude of burial and resur- 
rection, of birth into a higher life. 

The Proper Form. — That immersion was the form 
ct. the ordinance introduced by John the Baptist, submitted 
to by the Savior, and perpetuated by his Apostles, is a 
plain and reasonable inference from the teachings of the 
New Testament. Jesus, when about to be baptized, must 
have gone down into the water ; for after baptism, he "went 
up straightway 'out of the water." a When Philip baptized 
the Eunuch, "they went down both into the water." 6 John 
baptized "in Aenon. near to Salim^ because there was 
much water there" c — another proof presumptive of immer- 



a, Matt. 3:16. 

b, Acts 8 :38. 

c, John 3 :23. 



252 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

sion, the only mode requiring "much water" for its per- 
formance. 

If this had not been the proper form, Paul would not 
have compared baptism to burial and resurrection f nor 
would he have recognized as baptism the passage of the 
Israelites through the Red Sea/ Note also his words to 
the Corinthians relative to vicarious baptism and in support 
of resurrection, a doctrine that some of them denied : "Else 
what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the 
dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the 
dead?"^ In other words, why use the symbol of the resur- 
rection, if there be no resurrection — if the symbol does 
not symbolize? 

Additional Evidence. — In addition to what the Bible 
tells, we have the statements of archaeologists and his- 
torians, to the effect that baptism, in the first ages of 
Christianity, was a dipping or submersion in water. This, 
m fact, as philologists testify, is the meaning of the Greek 
word from which the English word "baptism'* is derived. 
Ancient baptisteries and other monumental remains in 
Asia, Africa and Europe, show that immersion was the 
act of baptism. The Christian churches of the Orient — 
Greek, Russian, Armenian, Nestorian, Coptic and others, 
have always practiced immersion and allow nothing else 
for baptism. The Western churches preserved this form 
for thirteen centuries, and then gradually introduced pour- 
ing or sprinkling — ceremonies in no way symbolical of 
birth and resurrection, and therefore not in harmony with 
the divine purpose for which baptism was instituted. 

Clinic Baptism. — Baptisms by pouring or sprinkling 
were exceptional in the early ages of the Christian Church. 



d, Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12. 

e, 1 Cor. 10:1, 2. 

f, lb. 15:29. 



MEANING AND MODE OF BAPTISM 253 

They were called clinic baptisms, because administered as 
a rule to the sick, who could not be taken from their beds 
to be immersed; but they were rare, and were regarded 
only as quasi-baptisms. g 

Immersion Made Optional. — Baptism by immersion 
was practiced regularly in the Roman Catholic Church until 
the year 1311, when the Council of Ravenna authorized a 
change, leaving it optional with the officiating minister to 
baptize either by immersion or by sprinkling. Even infants 
were baptized by immersion until about the end of the 
thirteenth century when sprinkling came into common 
use. 

Luther and Calvin. — Luther favored immersion and 
sought, against the tendency of the times, to restore it ; 
but Calvin, while admitting that the word "baptism" means 
immersion, and that this was certainly the practice of the 
ancient Church, held that the mode was of no consequence. 
A Greater than Calvin, however, had decreed otherwise, 
and had set the example that all were to follow. 

Modern Methods. — Pouring is the present practice in 
the Roman Catholic Church ; sprinkling in the Church 
of England and in the Methodist Church. A choice of 
modes is permitted by the Presbyterians, though sprinkling 
is the regular form. The Baptists as their name implies, are 
strong advocates of immersion. The Quakers repudiate 
baptism altogether. 

The Authorized Practice. — The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints has but one form of baptism — 
the one authorized by the Savior and practiced by his 
Apostles, namely, baptism by immersion for the remission 
of sins. fe The Church derives its knowledge of this sacred 



g, The first recorded case of clinic baptism is mentioned by 
Eusebius as having occurred in the third century. 
h, 3 Nephi 11:23-29. 



254 PO IVERS AND PRINCIPLES 

ordinance, not mainly from the Bible, nor from the Book 
of Mormon, nor from any other record. It came by direct 
revelation to Joseph the Seer, restoring that which was 
lost. Brushing aside the dust and cobwebs of tradition 
concealing the precious jewel of truth, he brought back 
the knowledge of the "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" of 
the ancients.* 

Baptism and Resurrection. — Baptism was made uni- 
versal, and became the doorway to the Church of Christ, 
the Kingdom of God on earth, because it represents resur- 
rection, which is likewise universal and without which no 
man can enter into the Celestial Kingdom. Christ, the 
great Exemplar of baptism, was the first to rise from the 
dead. It was fitting, therefore, that he should undergo 
the ordinance symbolizing the mighty fact for which he 
stands — redemption from the grave and eternal life be- 
yond. 

Symbolical of the Soul. — Baptism is twofold, corre- 
sponding to its subject, the soul, which is both spiritual 
and temporal. The body is represented by the water; the 
spirit by the Holy Ghost. Both are essential in the process, 
since it is not the body alone, nor the spirit alone, that is 
baptized, but body and spirit in one. Consequently, baptism 
is administered in a temporal world, where body and spirit 
can! both be present, and where the watery element 
abounds. A person can believe and repent in the spirit 
world, but cannot be baptized there. This makes neces- 
sary baptism by proxy. 

The Blood that Cleanseth. — In reality there are three 
factors in baptism— the Spirit, the Water and' the Blood. 
Only two of them are used in the ceremony. But without 
the atoning blood of Christ, there could be no baptism of a 

i, Eph. 4:5. 



MEANING AND MODE OF BAPTISM 255 

saving character. Hence it is written : "The blood, of Jesus 
Christ . . cleanseth us from all sin."- 7 

Three in One. — The Water and the Spirit, represent- 
ing earth and heaven, are made effectual by the Blood. 
Man and God are thus reconciled, Christ being the recon- 
ciler. There are three! that bear record in heaven — the 
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; and there are three 
that bear witness on earth — the Spirit, the Water and 
the Blood. Each group corresponds to the other; each 
three agree in one. Therefore, when a soul is baptized, 
it must be by Water and by Spirit, made effectual by 
Blood, and in the name of the Father and of the Son and 
of the Holy Ghost. 

A Divine Exegesis — The Lord explained this princi- 
ple to Adam thus : "Inasmuch as ye were born into the 
world by water and blood and the spirit, which I have 
made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye 
must be born again into the Kingdom 1 of Heaven, of 
water and of the spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even 
the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be 
sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life 
in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even 
immortal glory: 

"For by the Water ye keep the commandment ; by 
the Spirit ye are justified, and by the Blood ye are sancti- 
fied."* 

The Mediator. — Spirit, Water and Blood — the three 
elements of baptism — were combined in the person of 
Jesus Christ, when baptized by John in the Jordan. Stand- 
ing upon the river's brink, his sacred form dripping with 



;, 1 John 1 :7. 
k, Moses 6 :59, 60. 



256 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

the waters from which he had just emerged, he was 
crowned with the Holy Ghost, descending upon him from 
above. Yet it was necessary that his blood should be shed, 
in order that the Spirit might come in full force unto 
his disciples. Not until the Mediator had hung between 
heaven and earth, were the Apostles endued with power 
from on High. Then it was that the Spirit of God moved 
with full effect upon the waters of this world, coming, 
as in the first instance, that there might be a creation, 
a new birth, a regeneration for the human race. 

Immersion in the Spirit. — So much stress being laid 
upon immersion, and upon the twofold character of 
baptism, one may be led to inquire : Why is it not an im- 
mersion in the Spirit as well as in the Water? To which 
I answer : Is it not so ? When John the Baptist, proclaim- 
ing the Christ, said, "I indeed have baptized you with 
water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost,"' it 
was baptism in each instance, and baptism signifies im- 
mersion.™ 

The Laying on of Hands. — The Holy Ghost is im- 
parted by the laying on of hands." Possibly thisi cere- 
mony was intended to typify the glorious baptism that 
Earth will undergo when the Spirit is poured out upon 
her from on High. The laying on of hands for the giv- 
ing of the Holy Ghost was an ordinance in the Chris- 
tian Church for centuries. Cyprian mentions it in the third 
century ; Augustine in the fourth. Gradually, however, it 
began to be neglected, until finally somej of the sects 



/, Mark 1 :8. 

m, President Lorenzo Snow, in describing the effect of the 
Spirit upon himself, after his baptism in water, says: "It was-a com- 
plete baptism — a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or 
element, the Holy Ghost." — Improvement Era, June, 1919, p. 654. 

n, Acts 8:17. 



MEANING AND MODE OF BAPTISM 257 

discarded it, while others, retaining the form, "denied the 
power thereof." 

The Fathers Understood. — The Greek fathers of the 
Church held correct ideas concerning baptism. They termed 
it "initiation," from its introductory character; "regenera- 
tion," from its being regarded as a new birth; "the greac 
circumcision," because it was held to have superseded the 
circumcision of the Mosaic law; also "illumination" and 
"the gift of the Lord." 

Censured for Truth's Sake. — The Greek Christians of 
the early centuries, like the Saints of New Testament times, 
baptized for the remission of sins. They have been cen- 
sured by modern critics for magnifying the importance 
of water baptism, and at the same time insisting on the 
purely ethical or spiritual nature of the rite; for con- 
founding the sign with the thing signified, the action of 
the water with the action of the Spirit, in the process of 
regeneration. But they were not any more insistent upon 
these points than the Apostles themselves. 

Augustine's Theory. — St. Augustine is complimented 
by the same critics for formulating the first strict 
scientific theory of the nature and effects of baptism. He 
drew a sharp distinction between "the outward sign" — 
water baptism — and the inward change of heart resulting 
from the operation of the Holy Ghost. Yet even he is 
charged with laying too much stress upon the value of 
"the outward sign," which he held to be essential to salva- 
tion. Protestant theologians have been commended for 
keeping the "sign" in due subordination to "the thing signi- 



o, Other synonyms were "consecration" and "consummation." 
Those baptized were understood to have consecrated their lives to 
God, and to have consummated or completed their preparation for 
communion with the Church of Christ. Only to such was the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper administered. 
17 



258 POWERS AND PRINCIPLES 

fied," for justifying themselves by faith, and ignoring to 
a great extent outward ordinances. 

But the Greek Christians, whatever their defects, 
were nearer right than St. Augustine, and St. Augustine 
was nearer right than the Protestant theologians who fol- 
lowed him. Baptism, as taught in the New Testament, is 
not the mere "outward sign of an inward grace." The 
action of the water and the action of the Spirit are not 
to be separated in any analysis of the nature) and ef- 
fects of baptism. Both are essential in the soul-cleansing, 
soul-enlightening process. 

A Symbol of Creation. — Every baptism, every resur- 
rection, implies a birth. No seed germinates until it dies, or 
( | appears to die, and is buried. The gardener plants that 
there may be a springing forth of new life from the germ 
of the old/ Coming into this world involves departure 
out of a previous world, and burial here implies birth 
hereafter. The sun sets upon the Eastern hemisphere to 
rise upon the Western, and sets upon the Western to rise 
upon the Eastern. The setting and! rising of the sun ; 
sleep" followed by waking; winter with its icy fetters and 
snowy shroud, succeeded by spring in garments of 
green, with bright flowers, singing birds and laughing 
streams ; all these suggest baptism, for they symbolize 
birth, burial and resurrection. 

Begotten and Born of God. — We have a Father and a 
Mother in heaven, in whose image we were created, male 
and female. We were begotten and born in the spirit be- 
fore we were begotten and born in the flesh ; and we 
must be begotten and born again, in the similitude of those 
earlier begettings and births, or we cannot regain the pres- 
ence of our eternal Father and Mother. 

p, 1 Cor. 15 :35-44. 



MEANING AND MODE OF BAPTISM 259 

Babes in Christ. — Baptism signifies the creation of 
souls for the Kingdom of God. The one who baptizes is 
the spiritual progenitor of the one baptized. This is why 
the Apostles referred to those who received baptism at 
their hands as "children of my begetting," "babes in 
Christ," to be fed "the milk" before "the meat of the 
word. "^ To baptize is to perform spiritually the functions 
Oi fatherhood. Motherhood is symbolized by the baptismal 
font. Hence, baptism must be by divine authority, must 
have God's sanction upon it. Heavenly and earthly pow- 
ers must join, must be wedded for the bringing forth of 
the redeemed soul ; otherwise, the baptism will be unlaw- 
ful, the birth illegitimate, the act of begetting a sin. Bap- 
tisms, like marriages, performed without divine authority, 
will have no effect "when men are dead." 

Suggestive Symbolism. — The significance of baptism 
and the very form of the ceremony are suggested by the 
career of that Divine Being whose descent from heaven 
to earth, and whose ascent from earth to heaven, are the 
siim and substance of the Gospel Story. Descending below 
and rising above — such was his experience from the time 
he left his celestial throne to the time he returend to his 
glorious exaltation. Is it not possible that the sacred ordin- 
ance of baptism was intended to symbolize that wonderful 
event — God's merciful condescension for the sake of fallen 
man? Was it not instituted in anticipation and as a 
memorial of that mighty Birth, with its mortal burial 
and its immortal resurrection? 

A Watery World. — Moreover, in the symbolism of 
the Scriptures, this world is represented by water/ "All 
things are water," said the Greek Thales. At the very dawn 



q, 1 Cor. 3:1,2; Heb. 5:13, 14. 
r,Dan. 7; Rev. 13, 17. 



260 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

of creation, Spirit and Water, the two elements used in 
baptism, were both present — the one creative, the other 
ci eateable/ "Let the dry land appear!" The very words 
suggest baptism, birth, creation — the emergence of an 
infant planet from the womb of the waters. And when the 
Almighty was about to send the Flood, he said to Noah, 
concerning the wicked: "Behold, I will destroy them with 
the earth. "* Did he mean the watery element which 
enters so largely into the composition of the earth? 

A Double Doorway. — Water represents the temporal 
part of creation, including the body or mortal part of man. 
Baptism therefore, in its twofold character, suggests the 
passing out from this watery world into the spirit world, 
and thence by resurrection into eternal glory. It is only a 
suggestion, but it emphasizes for me the reason why the 
doorway to the Church and Kingdom of God is a double 
doorway, a dual birth, a baptism of Water and of the 
Spirit. 



s, Gen. 1 :2. 
t. Tb. 6:13. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-FOUR. 
The Gospel's Accessories. 

Many Ways to the Heart. — There is only one way into 
the Kingdom of Heaven, but there are many ways into the 
human heart; and the Church of Christ, in its mission of 
promulgating truth and turning souls to righteousness, has 
legitimate use for every avenue to that heart. Poetry, music, 
art in general, as well as science and philosophy — all these 
can be utilized as auxiliaries in the carrying on of the 
Lord's manifold work. They may not be essential parts of 
the divine message, but they prepare the way for its ac- 
ceptance and are the forerunners of greater things. This, 
to my thinking, is the main reason why they are in the 
world. There is something purifying, ennobling, exalting, 
in all true poetry, true music, real science and genuine 
philosophy. 

The Poet's Mission. — "The poets of the world," says 
the poetic Dr. Holland, "are the prophets of humanity. 
They forever reach after and foresee the ultimate good. 
They are evermore building the paradise that is to be, 
painting the millennium that is to come, restoring the lost 
image of God in the human soul. When the world shall 
reach the poet's ideal, it will arrive at perfection ; and 
much good will it do the world to measure itself by this 
ideal and struggle to lift the real to its lofty level. " a 

In the light of such a noble utterance, how paltry the 
ordinary concept of the poet as a mere verse-builder. His 
true mission is to exalt the ideal, and encourage the list- 



a, Lessons in Life, by Timothy Titcomb (J. G. Holland) — Les- 
son 22, "The Poetic Test." 



262 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

less or struggling- real to advance toward it and eventually 
attain perfection. 

Dreamers and Builders. — In this age of money-wor- 
ship, the poet is often referred to, and at times even ridi- 
culed, as a "dreamer." But the ridicule, when applied to 
a real poet, a true son or daughter of the Muses, is point- 
less. The poet is a dreamer ; but so; is the architect and the 
projector of railroads. All creative minds are dreamful, 
imaginative, poetic. Were it otherwise, nothing worth while 
would be created. If there were no dreamers, there would 
be no builders. Both are necessary to progress. Every art 
and every science has its share of poetic idealism, of poetic 
enthusiasm, and must have it, in order to achieve best re- 
sults. 

Well worthy of a place beside Doctor Holland's beauti- 
ful thought on poets and their ideals, is the following senti- 
ment on dreamers, from the pen of the popular essayist, 
James Allen: "As the visible world is sustained by the in- 
visible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid 
vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their 
solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers ; 
it cannot let their ideals fade and die ; it lives in them ; it 
knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and 
know. Composer,' sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, 
these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of 
heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived ; 
without them, laboring humanity would perish."* 

Poets and Prophets. — Poets are prophets of a lesser 
degree ; and the prophets are the mightiest of the poets. 
They hold the key to the symbolism of the universe, and 
they alone are qualified to interpret it. 



b, As a Man Thinketh, "Visions and Ideals.' 



THE GOSPEL'S ACCESSORIES 263 

Prophets, mightiest of the poets, 
They to whom the Gods tell secrets, 
Doing naught till true revealings 
Have made wise their trusted servants, 
Who in turn make wise the people; 
Bringing past and future present 
For the betterment of all men, 
Earth for every change preparing 
On her pilgrimage to glory. c 

Rhymes and Rhymesters. — There are rhymesters who 
are neither poets nor prophets ; and there, are prophets and 
poets who never build a verse nor make a rhyme. Rhyme is 
no essential element of poetry. Versification is an art used 
by the poet to make his thought more attractive. The 
rhyme pleases the ear and helps the sentiment to reach 
the heart — a ticket of admission, as it were. A musical 
instrument is painted and gilded, not to improve its melodic 
01 harmonic powers, but to make it beautiful to the eye, 
while its music appeals to the ear and charms the soul. 
Rhyme sustains about the same relation to poetry, as paint 
or gold leaf to the piano or organ. Clothing adds nothing 
to one's stature, to one's mental or moral worth ; but it 
enables one to appear well in society. "The apparel" may 
"proclaim," but it does not make "the man." Neither does 
rhyme make poetry. 

The Essence of Poetry. — The essence of poetry is its 
idealism, its symbolism. The Creator has built his universe 
upon symbols, the lesser suggesting and leading up to the 
greater ; and the poetic faculty — possessed in fulness by the 
prophet — recognizes and interprets them. "All things have 
their likeness. ' d All creations testify of their creator. They 



c, Love and the Light," p. 68. 

d, Moses 6:63. 



264 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

point to something above and beyond themselves. That is 
why poetry of the highest order is always ' prophetic or 
infinitely suggestive ; and that is why the poet is a prophet, 
and why there is such a thing as poetic prose. 

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They 
toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that 
even Solomon, in all his glory was not arrayed like one 
of these."* 

That is poetry, real poetry, full of rhythm, yet having 
no rhyme. 

Above and Beyond. — Anything is poetic that suggests 
something greater than itself. The lilies of the field sug- 
gested to the Savior's poetic mind the glory of Solomon. 
He used them as a means of instilling into the minds of his 
doubting disciples the great lesson of trust in Providence. 

Man, fashioned in the divine image, suggests God, 
and is therefore "a symbol of God," as Carlyle affirms/ 
But Joseph Smith said it first and more fully. He declared 
God to be "An Exalted Man." To narrow minds, this is 
blasphemy. To the broad-minded, it is poetry — poetry of 
the sublimest type. 

Poetic Ordinances. — The bread and water used in the 
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, represent something 
greater than those emblems — something above and beyond. 
The whole sacred ceremony is a poem in word and action. 

The same is true of Baptism, which stands for birth, 
creation, burial and resurrection. Fatherhood and mother- 
hood are both symbolized in the baptismal ordinance, the 
true form of which is immersion. Any deviation from thac 
mode destroys its poetic suggestiveness, its symbolism. 



e, Matt. 6:28, 29; Luke 12:27. 

f, Sartor Resartus, 3, "Symbols." 



THE GOSPEL'S ACCESSORIES 265 

The Greatest Poet and Prophet. — Jesus Christ, the 
greatest of all prophets, was likewise the greatest of all 
poets. He comprehended the universe and its symbolism 
as no one else ever did or could. He knew it through and 
through. What wonder? Had he not created it, and was 
it not made to bear record of him?£ He taught in poetic 
parables, taking simple things as types of greater things, 
and teaching lessons that lead the mind upward towards 
the ideal, towards perfection. The Gospel of Christ is re- 
plete with poetry. It is one vast poem from beginning to 
end. 

What of Philosophy — "Philosophy is the account 
which the human mind gives to itself of the constitution 
of the world." So says that great modern philosopher, 
Ralph Waldo Emerson/* In Article Eleven I have pointed 
out the similarity between Plato's concept of causes that 
produced the universe, and Joseph Smith's teaching upon 
the origin and purpose of the great plan of eternal pro- 
gression. But Joseph did not get his philosophy from 
Plato. He had it directly from the divine Source of Plato's 
inspiration. There is no plagiarism in this semi-paralleling 
of a sublime thought. In like manner Confucius taught, in a 
negative way, the Golden Rule, afterwards taught af- 
firmatively and more fully by Jesus of Nazareth. Truth, 
whether uttered by ancient sage or by modern seer, is 
worthy of all acceptance. 

Emerson on "Compensation." — Few things of a philo- 
sophic nature appeal to me more strongly than Emerson's 
great essay on "Compensation.". Says that master of 
thought and expression : 



g, Moses 6 :63. 

h, Representative Men, Plato, p. 51. 



266 PO IVERS AND PRINCIPLES 

"Every excess causes a defect ; every defect an ex- 
cess. Every sweet hath its sour, every evil its good. Every 
faculty which is a receiver of pleasure, has an equal penalty 
put on its abuse. It is to answer for its moderation with its 
life." 

"Nature hates monopolies and exceptions. The waves 
of the sea do not more speedily seek a level from their 
loftiest tossing, than the varieties of conditions tend to 
equalize themselves. There is always some leveling cir- 
cumstance that puts down the overbearing, the strong, the 
rich, the fortunate, substantially on the same ground with 
all others." 

"The fanner imagines power and place are fine things. 
But the President has paid dear for his White House." 

"The cheat, the defaulter, the gambler, cannot extort 
the benefit, cannot extort the knowledge of material and 
moral nature which his honest care and pains yield to the 
operative. The law of nature is, Do the thing, and you 
shall have the power ; but they who do not the thing 
have not the power." 

"As the royal armies sent against Napoleon, when he 
approached, cast down their colors and from enemies be- 
came friends, so do disasters of all kinds, as sickness, of- 
fense, poverty, prove benefactors." 

"Our strength* grows out of our weakness. Not until 
we are pricked and stung and sorely shot at, awakens the 
indignation which arms itself with secret \ forces. . . 
Blame is safer than praise." 

"The history of persecution is a history of endeavors 
:o cheat nature, to make water run up hill, to twist a rope 
of sand. . . The martyr cannot be dishonored. Every lash 
inflicted is a tongue of fame ; every prison a more il- 



THE GOSPEL'S ACCESSORIES 26? 

lustrious abode ; every burned book or house enlightens 
the world. . . It is the whipper who is whipped, and the 
tyrant who is undone." 

"The changes which break up at short intervals the 
prosperity of men, are advertisements of a nature whose 
law is growth. . . We cannot part with our friends. We 
cannot let our angels go. We do not see that they only go 
out, that archangels may come in." 

"The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, lover, 
which seemed nothing but privation, somewhat later as- 
sumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly 
operates revolutions in our wayj of life, terminates an 
epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be 
closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or 
style of living, and allows the formation of new ones more 
friendly to the growth of character." . . And the man or 
woman who would have remained a sunny garden flower, 
with no room for its roots and too much sunshine for its 
head, by the falling of the walls and the neglect of the 
gardener, is made the banian of the forest yielding shade 
and fruit to wide neighborhoods of men." 1 ' 

Divers Teachers. — Philosophy, like poetry, wins its 
way, where Truth's fulness, preached in power, might of- 
fend. The plain blunt message of the prophet who comes 
proclaiming, "Thus saith the Lord," repels and antagonizes 
many who will listen to and be impressed by the philoso- 
opher, with his cogent reasoning; or charmed by the poet, 
with his melodious verse and appealing illustrations ; or 
won over by the scientist, with his clear-cut, convincing 
demonstrations. All kinds of teachers go before the prophet, 



i, Emerson's Essays, 3, "Compensation." 



268 POWERS AND PRINCIPLES 

preparing" his way, or follow after him, confirming his 
testimony/ 

The Divine Art. — Music softens the heart, thus 
preparing the way before the Gospel. "The song of the 
righteous is a prayer unto me," saith the Lord.* Nothing 
brings the good spirit into a meeting more quickly than 
sweet and soulful singing, especially when choir and congre- 
gation join. Tourists come in a constant stream to listen 
to the organ and the choir in our great Tabernacle. The 
Gospel is not always preached to them ; they do not always 
desire it. But they are mellowed by the music, and go away 
with kinder feelings toward, and a better understanding 
of, the people who build such instruments, organize such 
choirs, and rear such structures. Their works speak for 
them. Depraved wretches, such as the majority of Utah's 
people are falsely represented to be, do not love music, care 
nothing for poetry and philosophy, do not cultivate the arts 
and sciences, nor rear tabernacles and temples unto God. 

Seeing and Hearing. — In the year 1875 President 
Ulysses S. Grant came to Utah — the first Executive of the 
Nation to set foot within the Territory, now a State. It was 



j, A friend of mine, a medical practitioner, was conversing with 
a learned physician in the great city of London. The subject was 
the Word of Wisdom (D. & C. 89) wherein the Lord, after depre- 
cating the use of strong drink, tobacco and other things "not good 
for man," goes on to say that "all wholesome herbs," "every fruit 
in the season thereof," and all grains are ordained for man's use. 
"Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for 
the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine and for all beasts 
of the field and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks," 
etc. The learned man asked : "Where did Joseph Smith get this 
information? These teachings are based upon scientific principles, 
recognized as such by the medical profession ; but they are of com- 
paratively recent discovery. They were not known in Joseph Smith's 
time." My friend, being a Latter-day Saint, did not lose the oppor- 
tunity thus afforded of bearing testimony to Joseph Smith's mis- 
sion as a prophet. 

k, D. & C. 25:12. 






THE GOSPEL'S ACCESSORIES 269 

at a time when, all over this broad land, bitter prejudice 
against the Latter-day Saints prevailed. It was freely 
asserted that the man who had finished with the South, 
would "make short work" of Utah and the "Mormons." 
Among the places visited by the President and his party 
during their stay, was the Salt Lake' Tabernacle, where 
he heard the organ played by Joseph J. Daynes. What the 
President thought of it, I never learned; but Mrs. Grant, 
her face streaming with tears, turned to Captain Hooper, 
who had been Utah's delegate in Congress, and said with 
deep feeling: "I wish I could do something for these good 
Mormon people." The music had touched her heart, and 
perhaps the heart of her noble husband ; for Grant was 
noble, though yielding at times to intense prejudiced 

No Substitute for the Gospel. — Let it not be sup- 
posed, however, that music, poetry, painting, sculpture, 
science, or any other thing, can take the place of the great 
uplifting Plan whereby the world, already redeemed, is yet 
t< x be glorified. No gift can vie with the Giver, no crea- 
ture usurp the functions of the Creator. He will use 
everything true and good and beautiful to melt the hearts 
of men and prepare them to be saved; but salvation itself 



I, Before reaching the Tabernacle, President Grant passed up 
South Temple Street, lined on both sides with sabbath school 
children, neatly and tastefully attired, waving banners and mottoes 
of welcome in honor of the nation's chief. Riding in an open car- 
riage, and running the gauntlet of applause and cheers, the honored 
guest turned to the Governor of Utah, Hon. George W. Emery, who 
sat beside him, and inquired : "What children are these ?" "Mor- 
mon children," replied the Governor. "The Silent Man" mused for 
a moment, and was then heard to murmur, "I have been deceived." 

He never was deceived again — in the same way. He could trust 
his eyes when he looked upon those beautiful children. They were 
not the product of crime and depravity, not the offspring of savages 
and criminals. He could trust his ears, too, when he heard that 
choir and that organ. No one could make him believe, after his 
visit to the "Mormon City," that its inhabitants were as black as 
they had been painted. 



270 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

comes only by one route — the Gospel of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

This is the great Ideal, and it must be honored and 
maintained as such. In dealing with it, noi Procrustean pro- 
cess is permissible. It must not be chopped off because men 
think it too long, nor stretched out because they deem it 
too short. It did not come into the world to be mutilated. 
Revelation cannot bow down to tradition. Truth is the 
standard — truth as Heaven reveals it — and the opinions 
and theories of men must give way. The Gospel's acces- 
sories are no substitute for the Gospel. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-FIVE. 
What Are Miracles? 

Not Contrary to Law. — Miracles are results flowing 
from superior means and methods of doing things. They do 
not happen contrary to law. They are in strict conformity 
therewith. It could not be otherwise; for the universe, 
natural and supernatural, is governed by law. But there 
are greater laws and lesser laws, and the greater have 
power to suspend the operation of the lesser. When this oc- 
curs, people exclaim: "A miracle!" Others say: "Ic never 
happened, for it is contrary to law." And indeed it may 
•seem contrary to ordinary law, with the workings of which 
their everyday experience is familiar. But that does not 
prove it contrary to some higher law concerning which 
they may know little or nothing. 

Elisha and the Axe. — When the Prophet Elisha re- 
lieved the distress of the young .man who had lost an axe 
• — a borrowed axe — in the stream on the bank of which he 
was hewing timber/ it may have been supposed, by some 
skeptical on-looker, that the man of God was working in 
opposition to law. The account given states that "he cut 
down a stick" and cast it into the water, and "the iron 
did swim" — in spite of the fact that. it is the nature of iron 
to sink. The law of gravitation required that the axe re- 
main at the bottom of the stream, unless, by the applica- 
tion of some counter-force, ordinary or otherwise, it could 
be recovered. The force applied in this case was extra- 
ordinary. Elisha invoked a law superior to the law of gravi- 
es 2 Kings, 6:1-7. 



2/2 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES * 

tation, suspending its complete action upon that particular 
piece of iron. & 

Scientific Achievements. — Today, iron ships are float- 
ing upon every sea. While this is not a miracle such as 
Elisha wrought, it would have been deemed a miracle in 
earlier ages of the world, before such wonders became com- 
monplace. The achievements of modern science, compared 
with past conditions in the same field of thought and 
action, ought to convince any reasonable mind that the days 
of miracles are not over. 

Light Production. — Men once made light by briskly 
rubbing together two pieces of wood, until friction gen- 
erated flame. Gas light or electric light, with the present 



b, "What are the Laws of Nature?" asks Carlyle, and continues: 
"To me perhaps the rising of one from the dead were no violation 
of these laws, but a confirmation, if some far deeper law, now first 
penetrated into, and by spiritual force, even as the rest have all been, 
were brought to bear on us with its material force." 

" 'But is it not the deepest law of Nature that she be constant?' 
cries an illuminated class : 'Is not the machine of the universe fixt 
to move by unalterable rules?' Probable enough, good friends. 
. . . And now of you, too, I make the old inquiry: What those 
same unalterable rules, forming the complete statute book of 
Nature, may possibly be? 

" They stand written in our works of science,' say you ; 'in the 
accumulated record of man's experience.' Was man with his expe- 
dience present at the creation, then, to see how it all went on? Have 
any deepest scientific individuals yet dived down to the founda- 
tions of the universe, and guaged everything there? Did the Maker 
take them into his counsel, that they read his ground-plan of the 
incomprehensible All, and can say, This stands marked therein, 
and no more than this? Alas, not in any wise!" . . ._ 

"To the minnow, every cranny and pebble and quality and acci- 
dent, of its little native- creek may have become familiar ; but does 
the minnow understand the ocean tides and periodic currents, the 
trade winds and monsoons and moon's eclipses, by all which the 
condition of its little creek is regulated, and may, from time to time 
(unmiraculously enough) be quite upset and reversed? Such a> 
minnow is man; his creek this planet earth; his ocean the immea- 
surable All; his monsoons and periodic currents the mysterious 
force of Providence through aeons of aeons." — Sartor Resartus, 
Natural Supernaturalism, pp. 275-278. 



WHAT ARE MIRACLES? 273 

means of producing them, would ; have filled the souls of 
such men with fear and wonder. To them it would have 
been a miracle. And yet, to press a button or! turn a switch, 
and thus obtain light, is a very clumsy device — or will be 
so considered when men learn to make light as God made it 
on the morning of creation/ 

"The Earth Moves." — The telegraph, the telephone, 
the electric car, the automobile, the airship — these and a 
hundred other^ marvelous manifestations of scientific 
power, now quite common, would have been deemed vision- 
ary and impossible in former ages. To have avowed even 
a belief in them would have imperiled one's life or de- 
prived him of his liberty, in the days when Galileo was 
threatened with torture for declaring that the earth moves, 
or when women, in later times were hanged or burned as 
witches for nothing at all. So dangerous is human pre- 
judice, in its fanatical opposition to things new and strange. 
This, of course, refers only to former ages and to semi- 
benighted peoples. We would not have done as our fore- 
fathers did ! So each generation thinks. Let us be thankful 
that the earth "does move," and that the mind of man 
moves with it, so that perils such as confronted Galileo 
and others of his class are now less likely to show their 
ugly features. 

The Other Extreme. — But just a word of caution here. 
We must not rush to the opposite extreme, and become 
obsessed with that ultra-practical spirit which would make 
all things commonplace, not only in manifestation, but in 
origin. Miracles, after all, are facts, not fictions, and some 
of them have their causes far back of and beyond the 
known principles of science. 



c, Gen. 1 :3. 
18 



274 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

Disbelief in Divine Interposition. — But there is a dis- 
position in these modern days to do away with every- 
thing" savoring of the supernatural, "Higher Criticism," 
so-called, seems to regard this as its special mission. 
Some people, even if they give credence to works of won- 
der, invariably refer them to ordinary causes — anything 
rather than acknowledge divine interposition. 

Moses and the Red Sea. — For instance, when they 
read of Moses parting- the waters of the Red Sea, they 
either deny the event in toto, or set Moses and the mir- 
acle aside, and susbtitute some convulsion of nature as 
the accidental cause of the mighty deliverance, when 
those waters, afer allowing the Israelites to pass through 
in safety, returned just in time to engulf their pursuing 
enemies, the Egyptians"/ 

A very convenient earthquake, truly ! Nothing could 
have been more timely ! But why could not Divine 
Power have done it all — done it designedly, in the man- 
ner and with the means specified in the sacred narrative ? e 
Is God impotent in the presence of Nature — fettered 
by his own creation? Alas! these learned theorists be- 
lieve not in God, and that is why they deny his works 
and put nature with its blind forces in his stead. 



d, "Everybody recalls how the Red Sea was rolled aside in or- 
der that the Israelites under Moses might pass over safely; how 
the river Jordan, a few years later, was driven back, that Joshua 
and his army might cross ; and how Sodom and Gomorrah were 
overwhelmed with fire and brimstone for their sins. . . . Geolo- 
gists are now inclined to believe that the recession of the sea 
might have been caused by an earthquake pushing up a rock stratum 
under tremendous pressure. The water would return in some degree 
upon the subsidence of the stratum. The various miraculous events 
referred to occurred about the year 1500 B. C., and there is a 
curious similarity between them. It now appears probable from 
scientific research that these occurrences were the last of a series 
of terrific earthquake disturbances that changed the entire sur- 
face of the globe."— W. H. Ballou, D. Sc. 

e. Ex. 14:21-31. 



WHAT ARE MIRACLES? 27 S 

Joshua and the Sun. — They laugh to scorn the idea 
of Joshua commanding the sun to stand still, deeming 
it "a sin and a disgrace" that such things should be 
preached and taught, and denying, of course, that the 
miracle ever took place. Because, forsooth, the whole 
solar system would have come crashing down into 
chaos, had the sun halted for one moment in its de- 
creed course! Yes, that might have happened, such a 
calamity might have occurred — had there been no God 
to uphold the solar system and administer the law 
for its preservation. 

"The Lord Fought for Israel." — But there is a God, 
and he was there as he is everywhere, by his all- 
protective, all-administrative power — the God to whom 
Joshua prayed before uttering the sublime command : 
"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in 
the valley of Ajalon!"^ "And the sun stood still, and 
the moon stayed, until the people had avenged them- 
selves upon their enemies ; . . . for the Lord fought 
for Israel."^ 

There you have it — it was the Lord's doing. Joshua 
was merely the instrument, just as Moses had been. But 
because such things are not happening every day, and 
because doubt cannot do them, therefore are they impos- 
sible to Faith ! Such is the logic of those who scoff at 
the power of Deity and deny even the miracles of the 
Savior. 

Nothing Too Difficult for Omnipotence. — For my 
part, I see nothing inconsistent in these Bible stories — 
nothing to justify doubt or denial. A Power that could 
create the sun and moon and set them whirling in their 
orbits, could stop them in their decreed course — or stop 



/, Joshua 10:12. 
g, lb. vv. 13, 14. 



276 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

the earth, so that sun and moon would seem to be stayed 
— and at the same time uphold the universe, while this 
part of it remained stationary. Of course, man could 
not do it; but human power is not the measure of Omni- • 
potence. 

What Our Century Needs. — What the Twentieth 
Century needs, more than anything else, is an honest be- 
lief that there is actually a God in heaven, and that his 
power is superior to man's. The Great Creator has not 
let out his universe, to be governed by law independently 
of the Law-giver. The God of Israel is a God who an- 
swers prayer, and who works miracles whenever the need 
arises and conditions warrant — works them according to 
law. But He administers that law — it does not administer 
him. 

Greater and Lesser Laws. — Some laws are funda- 
mental. The Almighty did not create them; but he 
controls them and overrules their workings for the wel- 
fare of his creatures. According to Joseph Smith, certain 
laws were "instituted" at the beginning, as a means for 
human progression. These are eternal principles where- 
by our great and benevolent Father proposes to save and 
exalt his children, and give perpetuity to all things neces- 
sary for their happiness and glory. 

Who, 'having faith in a Maker of the universe, can 
question his power to govern that universe, the work- 
manship of his hands? And if he controls the fundamen- 
tal laws — those uncreateble, self-existent principles which 
are as the Constitution of Eternity, surely he can suspend 
the operation of lesser laws based thereon, setting aside 
at will his own enactments. 

An Illustration. — Suppose a child to be lying at the 
point of death. The family physician, having done his 
best and failed, informs the sad-hearted parents that their 



WHAT ARE MIRACLES? 277 

little one cannot live till morning. Medical science so 
decrees, in accordance with the law under which the phy- 
sician has been operating. But, bearing in mind the apos- 
tolic injunction, "Is any sick among you? Let him call 
for the Elders of the Church, " h the parents send for the 
Elders. They come and pray over the child, and the 
prayer of faith "saves the sick," notwithstanding the good 
doctor's prognostication. A miracle? Yes, if one chooses 
to call it so. In other words, the suspension of a lesser 
law by a greater, the former requiring the death of the 
child, the latter permitting it to live ; the lower inopera- 
tive in the presence of the higher. 

Biggest Things Yet to Be. — Miracles belong to no 
particular time or place. Whenever and wherever there is 
sufficient faith and a reasonable demand for its exercise, 
Divine Power will act, and marvels will result. "There 
are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of" 
in human "philosophy," and the biggest things are yet 
to be. God's work is progressive, and the miracles of 
the future will cause the miracles of the past to pale. 

Divine Adaptation. — Progression's hiehest methods 
cannot be employed in dealing with undeveloped man. 
The All-wise adapts himself to the conditions environing 
those whom he aims to uplift and glorify. "All things are 
in a scale," rendering necessary a diversity of laws and 
operations. Even the divine dictum, "Let there be light!" 
does not represent the last word in light production. 
God is Light, and has only to appear, and all darkness 
will flee away. When the sun rises, the moon and stars 
must "hide their diminished heads." When God dawns 
upon the world, not even the sun will shine. 

h, James 5:14. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-SIX. 
The Mainspring of Power. 

The Moving Cause. — All power springs from faith. 
It is "the moving cause of all action" and "the foundation 
of all righteousness." God did not create the principle 
of faith, but by means of it he created the worlds, and 
by means of it he continues to exercise con- 
trol and dominion over them. It is the faith of Omnipo- 
tence that upholds the universe. 

A Negative Opinion. — A Christian minister, not of the 
orthodox school, with whom I was conversing on the 
subject of faith, tried to convince me that it was any- 
thing but an admirable quality. He even called it con- 
temptible, declaring that it consisted of a weak willing- 
ness to believe — to believe anything, however improbable 
or absurd. In short, it was mere credulity, nothing 
more. 

A Spiritual Force). — When I referred to faith as a 
spiritual force, a principle of power, he said I was at- 
taching to the term a significance that it had never borne, 
and for which there was .no warrant. I then reminded 
him of the Savior's words : "If ye have faith as a grain 
of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Re- 
move hence to yonder place/ and it shall remove, and 
nothing shall be impossible unto you." & Whereupon he 
flippantly remarked : "Oh, it takes picks and shovels to 
move mountains." 

Picks and Shovels. — And so it does — if one has no bet- 
ter way of moving them. But what about the faith 



a, D. & C. Lectures on Faith, Lee. 1, pp. 1, 2; See also Heb. 11. 

b, Matt. 17:20. 



THE MAINSPRING OF POWER 279 

necessary to handle pick and shovel? All energy springs 
from faith, and whether mountains are moved by man 
or by his Maker, it is faith that precedes the action and 
renders it possible. Yet here was a professed minister of 
Christ, ignoring the teachings of Christ, and denying what 
all true Christians believe — that the smallest as well as 
the greatest acts of our lives spring from the exercise 
of faith. 

# 

Misplaced Confidence. — In its incipient stages, faith 
may at times resemble mere credulity. The untutored 
savage who was told by one of the early settlers of New Eng- 
land, that if he planted gunpowder it would "grow" gun- 
powder, believed it, not yet having learned that the white 
man could lie. He therefore parted with his valuable 
furs, in exchange for a small quantity of powder, and 
planted it, showing his confidence in the settler's word. 
But of course the desired result did not follow ; for faith, 
to be effectual, must be rightly based, must have a rea- 
sonable foundation. The Spirit of Truth must inspire 
it. This was not the case with the poor misguided Indian. 
He trusted in a falsehood, and was deceived. Still, some 
good came of it — he ascertained the falsity of the set- 
tler's statement. If the planting did not produce powder, 
it produced a wiser Indian. 

Faith's Possibilities. — Had the red man's faith been 
perfect — an intelligent, rational, heaven-inspired faith 
— he could have produced gunpowder or any other com- 
modity from the all-containing elements around him. And 
that, too, without planting a seed or employing any or- 
dinary process of manufacture. The miracles wrought 
by the Savior — his turning of water into wine, his mira- 
culous feeding of the multitude, his walking on the waves, 
healing of the sick, raising of the dead, and other won- 
derful works — what were they but manifestations of an 



280 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

all-powerful faith, to possess which is to have the power 
to move mountains, without picks and shovels, my skep- 
tical friend to the contrary notwithstanding? Faith is 
not to confounded with blind ignorant credulity. It is a 
divine energy, operating upon natural principles and by 
natural processes — natural, though unknown to "the nat- 
ural man," and termed by him "supernatural. " 

"As a Grain of Mustard Seed." — When the Savior 
spoke of the faith that' moves mountains, he was not 
measuring the quantity of the faith by the size of the 
mustard seed. Neither was it an Oriental hyperbole. Jesus 
was speaking literally. Mountains had been moved before 
by the power of faith ; c then why not now ? d 

An Impelling Force. — Faith is the beating heart of the 
universe. Without it nothing was ever accomplished, 
small or great, commonplace or miraculous. No work 
ever succeeded that was not backed by confidence in 
some power, human or superhuman, that impelled and 
pushed forward the enterprise. 

Those Who Believe. — It was not doubt that drove 
Columbus across the sea ; it was faith — the impelling 
force of the Spirit of the Lord/ It was not doubt that 
inspired Jefferson, Franklin, and the other patriot fathers 
to lay broad and deep the foundations of this might)?- 



c, Ether 12 :30. 

d, It is my belief that the Savior, in his reference to the mustard 
seed, meant that if man would obey the divine law given for his 
government as faithfully as that tiny germ obeys the law given for 
its government, he could wield infinitely more power than he 
now possesses. Solid stone pavements are upheaved and cracked 
asunder by the gradual growth or expansion of a seed or root 
buried underneath. Such things indicate a hidden force even in 
the lowliest creations. It is written that the earth "filleth the 
measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law." (D. & C. 
88:25). If man were that obedient, he would have the power to 
"move mountains." 

e, 1 Nephi, 13:12. 



THE MAINSPRING OF POWER 281 

republic, as a hope and a refuge for oppressed humanity. 
It is not doubt that causes nations to rise and flourish, 
that induces great and good men in all ages and in all 
climes to teach and toil and sacrifice for the benefit of 
their fellows. It is faith that does such things. Doubt 
only hinders what faith would achieve. The men and 
women who move the world are the men and women 
who believe. 

Mahomet and Islam. — Carlyle, in splendid phrasing, 
depicts the wonderful change that came over the Arabian 
people when they abandoned idolatry, the insincere wor- 
ship of "sticks and stones," and became a believing na- 
tion. "It was as a birth from darkness into light ; Arabia 
first became alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people 
roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the 
world ; a hero-prophet was sent down to them with a 
word they could believe ; see, the unnoticed becomes 
world-notable, the small has become world-great; within 
one century afterward Arabia is at Granada on this hand, 
at Delhi on that — glancing in valor and splendor and the 
light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a 
great section of the world. Belief is great, life-giving. 
The history of a nation becomes fruitful, soul-elevat- 
ing, great, so soon as it believes."^ 

Achievements of Christendom. — The same philosophy, 
with far greater emphasis, applies to Christendom and 
its glorious achievements all down the centuries. What 
has caused Christian nations to flourish so mightily? 
What has enabled Christianity, in spite of its errors, to 
survive the wreck of empires and to weather the storms 
of time ? Faith in the Christ, imperfect though that faith 
has been. The faith of any people — its trust in and 



f, "Heroes and Hero Worship," Lee. 2. 



282 PO WERS AND PRINCIPLES 

reliance upon some power deemed by it divine — constitutes 
its main source of strength. 

Faith Must Be Genuine. — But faith must be genuine. 
Pretense and formalism will not avail. Hypocrisy is the 
worst form of unbelief. Honest idolatry is infinitely 
preferable to dishonest worship. Better burn incense to 
Diana, believing it to be right, than bow down to Christ 
in hollow-hearted insincerity. Mighty Rome did not fall 
until she had[ ceased to worship sincerely the gods 
enshrined within her Pantheon. Glorious Greece did not 
succumb until her believers had become doubters, until 
skeptical philosophy had supplanted religious enthusiasm, 
and the worship of freedom, grace and beauty had de- 
generated into unbridled license and groveling "sensuality. 
No nation ever crumbled to ruin until false to itself, false 
to the true principles of success, the basic one of which 
is To Believe. 

Germany's Mistake. — The world in recent years has 
witnessed the sad spectacle of a great nation, or the 
ruling powers of that nation, turning from Christ and 
substituting fo^ Christian faith a godless pagan philosophy. 
Discarding the just and merciful principles of the Gospel, 
and adopting the false notion that might makes right, 
the fallen Teutonic empire has shown, by the revolting 
cruelties practiced in pursuance of that doctrine, what 
science (kultur) is capable of, when it parts company with 
God and morality. The land of Goethe and Wagner, and 
alas ! the land also of the Hohenzollern and the Hinden- 
bnrg, far from winning the "place in the sun" that she 
so coveted, has lost the proud place alreadv held bv her 
when the mad ambition of her militarv chiefs plunged 
her into ruin. The one thine that can now redeem her. 
and lift her up out of the p ; t into which she has fpl- 



THE MAINSPRING OF POWER 283 

len, is faith in the true God, and the works by which that 
faith is made manifest. 

According to Their Faith. — God deals with men ac- 
according to their faith. The Savior wrought mighty mir- 
acles, by his own faith, but most of them were faith 
abounded in the hearts of the people. In other places he 
did not do many mighty works, "because of their un- 
belief." Faith is a gift from God, and they who serve him 
best have most of it. Faith is the soil that brings forth 
miracles. "All things are possible to them that believe." 



PART EIGTH 



BEYOND THE HORIZON. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-SEVEN. 
The Spirit World. 

Not Heaven. — That there is a Spirit World, and that 
it is closely connected with the material world — the one 
we now inhabit — has been a tenet in the religious philosophy 
of wise and good men all down the ages. In the minds of 
many people, the Spirit World and Heaven are synonym- 
ous terms, indicating one and the same place. But in 
reality there is a wide difference between them. A state 
of rest, such as the spirit life is understood to be for the 
righteous — though "rest" should not be interpreted as 
idleness or want of occupation — might easily pass for 
heaven, when contrasted with this life of pain, sorrow 
and trouble. But that is only relative. It is not saying too 
much — indeed it may be saying too little — to affirm that 
there is just as much difference between the spirit world 
and heaven, as between the mortal and the spiritual phases 
of man's existence. 

Here on Earth. — According to Parley P. Pratt, the 
Spirit World is the spiritual part of this planet — or, to 
use his exact language : "The earth and other planets of 
a like order have their inward or spiritual spheres, as well 
as their outward or temporal. The one is peopled by tem- 
poral tabernacle^, and the other by spirits." "As to its 
location," he says, "it is here on the very planet where 
we were born." a 

All Things Before Created.— The proposition that 
Earth has a spiritual as well as a temporal sphere is a 
reassertion of the doctrine of duality, embodied in ancient 



a, Key to Theology. Chapt. 14. 



288 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

and modern revelation, and particularly emphasized by 
Joseph the Seer. A careful reading of the Book of Genesis 
(the King James version) discloses, though somewhat 
vaguely, the fact of this duality, as applied to the works 
of creation. Thus, after giving an account of the earth 
and of all things connected therewith, the sacred writer 
says : 

"These are the generations of the heavens and of the 
earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God 
made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the 
field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the 
field before it grew : for the Lord God had not caused it 
to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till 
the ground/'* 

"Not a man to till the ground" — and yet man had been 
created, as well as the plants and herbs that existed "be- 
fore they grew." The apparent contradiction — apparent 
though not real — was explained by the Prophet when, by 
the Spirit of Revelation, he revised the Scriptures, giving 
a more ample account of the creation than the ordinary 
Bible contains. From that account the following sentences 
are taken: 

"For I the Lord God created all things of which I 
have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon 
the face of the earth. . . And I the Lord had created all 
the children of men ; and not yet a man to till the ground. 
For in heaven created I them; and there was not yet 
flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the 
air. . . Nevertheless, all things were before created. " c 

First Spiritual, Then Temporal. — In other words, 
there were two creations — or rather, the, creation had 



b, Gen. 2:4, 5. 

c, Moses 3:5, 7. 



THE SPIRIT WORLD 289 

two phases, the first spiritual, the second temporal. When 
the Creator made man and beast and fish and fowl, he 
made them twice — first in the spirit, then in the body ; and 
the same is true of the trees, the shrubs, the flowers, and 
all other created things. They were made spiritually and 
temporally, the spirit and the body constituting the soul. d 

Not Far Away. — The Spirit World is not a thing afar 
off. Our thoughts need not sail away millions of miles 
into space to find it. According to the best evidence we 
possess, it is near to us — right around us. We have but 
to emerge from the body, and we are in the spirit world. 
Out of it we came, and unto it we shall return. "The 
spirits of the just," says the Prophet Joseph, "are not far 
from us;" they "know and understand our thoughts, feel- 
ings and motions, and are often pained therewith/ 

Just and Unjust. — The spirits of the unjust likewise 
inhabit the spirit world, though they are separated from 
the righteous, and are not in a state of rest. Light and 
darkness divide that realm, each domain having its ap- 
propriate population. Soi far from being Heaven, part 
of the spirit world is Hades or Hell. Referring to the 
class who people that part, the Prophet says : "The great 
misery of departed spirits . . . is to know that they come 
short of the glory that others enjoy and that they might 
have enjoyed themselves; and they are their own ac- 
cusers."? 

Jesus and the Penitent Thief. — "In the spirit world," 
says Parley P. Pratt, "are all the varieties and grades of 
intellectual beings which exist in the present world. For 
instance, Jesus Christ and the thief on the cross both went 



d, D. & C. 88:15; Moses 3:9. 

e, Hist. Ch. Vol. 6, p. 52. 

f, lb. Vol. 5, p. 425. 

19 



290 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

to the same place." That is to say, they both went to the 
spirit world. 

Jesus, it will be borne in mind, had been crucified be- 
tween two thieves, one of whom derided him, insulting 
his dying agonies. The other, being penitent, prayed: 
"Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy king- 
dom." To him the Savior said: "Today shalt thou be 
with me in paradise. "£ Because of this utterance — which 
Joseph Smith declared to be a mistranslation, maintain- 
ing that "paradise" should read "world of spirits"'* — 
uninspired minds have drawn the conclusion that the 
penitent thief was promised immediate heavenly exaltation, 
for repenting at the last moment and professing faith in 
the Redeemer. This notion is still entertained. The 
criminal who has forfeited his life and is under sentence 
of death, because unfit to dwell among his fallen fellow 
creatures, is made to believe that by confessing Christ, 
even on the scaffold, he is fitted at once for the society of 
Gods and angels, and will be wafted to never-ending bliss. 

A False Doctrine. — Jesus never taught such a doc- 
trine, nor did any authorized servant of the Lord. It is a 
man-made theory, based upon faulty inference and mis- 
interpretation. The Scriptures plainly teach that men will 
be judged according to their works,* and receive rewards 
as varied as their deeds/ It was best for the thief, of 
course, to repent even at the eleventh hour ; but he could 
not be exalted until prepared for it, if it took a thousand 
years. When Christ said: "I go to prepare a place for 
you, that where I am there ye may be also," fe he was not 



g, Luke 23:43. 

h, Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, pp. 424, 425. 

i, Rev. 20:12, 13. 

/, D. & C. 76. 

k, John 14:2, 3. 



THE SPIRIT WORLD 291 

speaking to murderers and malefactors, but to his pure- 
minded, right-living disciples, those only to whom such a 
promise could consistently be given. 

What Goes on There. — Jesus Christ and the thief both 
went; to the world of spirits, a plaeej of rest for the 
righteous, a place of correction for the wicked. "But," as 
the Apostle Parley goes on to say, "the one was there in 
all the intelligence, happiness, benevolence and charity 
which characterize a teacher, a messenger anointed to 
preach glad tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to comfort those who mourned, to preach de- 
liverance to the captive, and open the prison to those who 
were bound ; or, in other words, to preach the Gospel to 
the spirits in prison, that they might be judged according 
to men in the flesh ; while the other was there as a thief, 
who had expired on the cross for crime, and who was 
guilty, ignorant, uncultivated, and unprepared for resur- 
rection, having need of remission of sins and to be in- 
structed in the science of salvation." 

Thus is told in part what goes on in the spirit world. 
"It is a place," continues our Apostle, "where the Gospel 
is preached, where faith, repentance and charity may be 
exercised, a place of waiting for the resurrection or re- 
demption of the body; while to those who deserve it, it 
is a place of punishment, a purgatory or hell, where 
spirits are buffeted until the day of redemption." 

Alma's Teaching. — To the foregoing should be added 
the testimony of Alma the Nephite, upon the same sub- 
ject : 

"Now concerning the state of the soul between death 
and the resurrection — Behold, it has been made known 
unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon 
as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits 



292 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home 
to that God who gave them life. 

"And then shall it come to pass that the spirits of 
those who are righteous, are received into a state of hap- 
piness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a state of 
peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and 
from all care, and sorrow. 

"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the 
wicked, yea, who are evil — for behold, they have no part 
nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord ; for behold, they chose 
evil works rather than good ; therefore the spirit of the 
devil did enter into them, and take possession of theii 
house — and these shall be cast out into outer darkness ; 
there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of 
teeth ; and this because of their own iniquity ; being led 
captive by the will of the devil. 

"Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, 
in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for the 
fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus 
they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in 
paradise, until the time of their resurrection.' 

A Vision of Redemption. — President Joseph F. Smith, 
only a short while before his death, saw in a "vision of 
the redemption of the dead," the Savior's visit to the world 
of spirits, as recorded in the first epistle of Peter.™ The 
President's account of what he beheld follows : 

"I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great, 
and there were gathered together 1 in one place an in- 
numerable company of the spirits of the just. . . They were 
filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together 
because the day of their deliverance was at hand. . . The 



I, Alma 40:11-14. 
m, 1 Peter 3:18-20. 



THE SPIRIT WORLD 293 

Son of God appeared, and preached to them the ever- 
lasting gospel. 

"I perceived that the Lord went not in person among 
the wicked and disobedient who had rejected the truth, 
to teach them; but behold from among the righteous he 
organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed 
with power and authority, and commissioned them to go 
forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that 
were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men. 

"I beheld that the faithful Elders of this dispensa- 
tion, when they depart from mortal life, continue their 
labors in the preaching of the gospel. . . . among 
those who are in darkness and under bondage of sin in 
the great world of the spirits of the dead." n 

Personal and Proxy Ministrations. — The new light 
here thrown upon the subject proceeds from the declara- 
tion that when the Savior visited the inhabitants of 
the spirit world, it was by proxy, and not in person, so far 
as the wicked were concerned. He ministered to the 
righteous directly, and to the unrighteous indirectly, send- 
ing to the latter his servants, bearing the authority of 
the Priesthood, and duly commissioned to speak and act 
for him. President Smith's pronouncement modifies the 
view commonly taken, that the Savior's personal ministry' 
was to both classes of spirits. 

A Temporary Abode. — Thus we see that the Spirit 
World is not Heaven, except in a relative sense, and then 
only in part. It is a temporary abode for God's children, 
while undergoing processes of purification and development, 
as a preparation for better things beyond. Heaven, on the 
other hand — heaven in the highest degree — is the perman- 
ent home of the perfected and glorified. 



n, Gospel Doctrine, pp. 596-601. 

o, Compare 3 Nephi 15:21-24; D. & C. 76:112. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-EIGHT. 

Spirit Promptings. 

Spirit Memories. — Writing one day upon the subject 
of spirit memories, and the influence exerted upon the af- 
fairs of this life by the awakened recollections of a for- 
mer experience, I found myself indulging in the follow- 
ing reflections : 

Why are we drawn toward certain persons, and 
they toward us, independently of any known previous 
acquaintance ? Is it a fact, or only a fancy, that we and 
they were mutually acquainted and mutually attracted in 
some earlier period of our eternal existence? Is there 
something, after all, in that much abused term "affinity," 
and is this the basis of its claim? More than once, after 
meeting someone whomi I had never met before on 
earth, I have wondered why his or her face seemed so 
familiar. Many times, u)pon hearing a noble sentiment 
expressed, though unable to recall having heard it until 
then, I have been thrilled by it, and felt as if I had always 
known it. The same is true of music, some strains of 
which are like echoes from afar, sounds falling from celes- 
tial heights, notes struck from the vibrant » harps of 
eternity. I do not assert pre-acquaintance in all such 
cases, but as one thought suggests another, these queries 
arise in the mind. 

The Shepherd's Voice. — When it comes to the Gospel, 
I feel more positive. Why did the Savior say: "My 
sheep know my voice?" Can a sheep know the voice of 
its shepherd, if it has never heard that voice before? They 
who love Truth, and to whom it appeals most pow- 



SPIRIT PROMPTINGS 295 

erfully, were they not its best friends in a previous state 
of existence? I think so. I believe that we knew the 
Gospel before we came here, and it is this knowledge, 
this acquaintance, that gives to it a familiar sound. 

Very much in the same vein, I once wrote to Presi- 
dent Joseph F. Smith — he at the time in Utah, and I on 
a mission in Europe. Here is his reply: 

President Smith's View. — "I heartily endorse your 
sentiments respecting congeniality of spirits. Our knowl- 
edge of persons and things before we came here, com- 
bined with the divinity awakened within our souls 
through obedience to the gospel; powerfully affects, in 
my opinion, all our likes and dislikes, and guides our 
preferences in the course of this life, provided we give 
careful heed to the admonitions of the Spirit. 

"All those salient truths which come so forcibly to the 
head and heart seem but the awakening of the memories 
of the spirit. Can we know anything here that we did 
not know before we came? Are not the means of knowl- 
edge in the first estate equal those of this ? I think that 
the spirit, before and after this probation, possesses 
greater facilities, aye, manifold greater, for the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge, than while manacled and shut up in 
the prison-house of mortality. I believe that our Savior 
possessed a foreknowledge of all the vicissitudes through 
which he would have to pass in the mortal tabernacle . . 

"If Christ knew beforehand, so did we. But in com- 
ing here, we forgot all, that our agency might be free in- 
deed, to choose good or evil, that we might merit the 
reward of our own choice and conduct. But by the power 
of the Spirit, in the redemption of Christ, through obe- 
dience, we often catch a spark from the awakened mem- 



296 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

ories of the immortal soul, which lights up our whole 
being as with the glory of our former home." 

"A Glance Behind the Curtain/' — Closely akin to 
these reflections, are some pointed and telling lines in 
which the poet Lowell expresses his conviction regard- 
ing the influence of the unseen world upon the world 
visible. The action of the poem from which the lines are 
taken deals with Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden, 
English patriots, who are represented as about to flee from 
the tyranny of King Charles the First, and seek a new 
home overseas, joining the little band of Puritans who 
have already found a haven on western Atlantic shores. 
Hampden urges flight, but Cromwell hesitates. Some- 
thing within tells him not to go — tells him that Freedom 
has a work for him to do, not in America, but in his own 
land, where he afterwards overthrew the royal tyrant, be- 
came Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and broad- 
ened and deepened the foundations of English liberty. 
The opening verses of the poem contain the crux of the 
whole matter under discussion : 

We see but half the causes of our deeds, 
Seeking them wholly in the outer life, 
And heedless of the encircling spirit world, 
Which, though unseen, is felt, and sows in us 
All germs of pure and world-wide purposes. 

The fate of England and of freedom once 
Seemed wavering in the heart of one plain man. 
One step of his, and the great dial-hand 
That marks the destined progress of the world 
In the eternal round from wisdom on 
To higher wisdom, had been made to pause 
A hundred years. 



a, Gospel Doctrine, pp. 15, 16. 



SPIRIT PROMPTINGS 297 

That step he did not take — 
He knew not why, nor we, but only God, 
And lived to make his simple oaken chair 
More terrible and grandly beautiful, 
More full of majesty than any throne, 
Before or after, of a British king.& 

A Well Warranted Conviction. — How much of fact 
and how much of fiction, are here interwoven, matters 
not for the purpose of this argument. It was the poet's 
belief that such things could be, a belief shared by 
myriads of Christian men and women, and confirmed 
by a multiplicity of experiences. 

Columbus and "The Voice." — In another poem — "Co- 
lumbus" — Lowell sets forth the same idea, that of whis- 
perings or suggestions from beyond the "veil" hiding the 
spirit world from this world of flesh and blood.. The 
great mariner is supposed to be standing on the deck of 
his ocean-tossed vessel, soliloquizing over the situation 
surrounding him : A yet undiscovered country ahead, a 
mutinous and grumbling crew behind, threatening to put 
him in irons and turn the ship's prow toward Spain, if 
sight of the promised shore of India — for which Colum- 
bus set sail — came not with the break of dawn. A world 
of care weighs him down, a sense of solitude and utter 
loneliness, but his soul hears "the voice that errs not," 
and is patient and trustful to the hour of complete tri- 
umph/ 

Nephi and the Spirit. — That it was indeed "the voice 
that errs not" which inspired Columbus, upholding and 
urging him on to the consummation of the great en- 
terprise he had undertaken, we have sacred and indisput- 
able evidence. Long before Columbus crossed the ocean, 



b, J. R. Lowell's Poems, "A Glance Behind the Curtain." 

c, lb. "Columbus."~ 



298 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

an American prophet and seer, Nephi by name, looking 
down the vista of twenty centuries, forecast the career 
of that man of destiny, telling how "the Spirit of God" 
would impel him to cross "the many waters" to this 
"promised land ;" and how the same Spirit, moving upon 
others, would induce them to follow in the wake of the 
mighty explorer. That prophet beheld in vision the 
war for American Independence, the successful struggle 
of the oppressed colonies against the mother country, and 
the founding here of a free government, a heaven-favored 
nation, destined to foster and give protection to the 
growing work of God in after days. And this revealing 
Spirit — so Nephi affirms — was more than an/ inward 
monitor: "I spake unto him as a man speaketh, for I 
beheld that he was in the form of man ; yet, nevertheless, 
I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord ! and he spake 
unto me as a man speaketh with another."** 

The Holy Ghost. — Evidently it was the Holy Ghost 
who communed with Nephi, though he is here spoken of 
as "the Spirit of God, and 'the Spirit of the Lord." 
"The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit ;" e and though 
not in a tabernacle like the Father or the Son, he is never- 
theless in human form, and Nephi beheld him and con- 
versed with him. 

The Unerring Guide. — The experience of Columbus 
differed from that of Nephi, notably in this particular: 
Nephi "beheld," while Columbus was moved upon — yet 
it was the same Spirit in each instance. It was of the 
Holy Ghost that the Savior was speaking, when he 
said to his disciples : "He will guide you into all truth. "f 
The mission of the Holy Ghost is to make manifest the 



d, 1 Nephi 11:11; 13:10-19. 

e, D. & C. 130:22. 

f, John 16:13. 



SPIRIT PROMPTINGS 299 

things of God, past, present and future, explaining the 
purpose of this mortal life, revealing to man his eternal 
origin and destiny, and answering the otherwise un- 
answerable questions — whence? whither? and why? 

Wordsworth's "Intimation." — It was this Spirit that 
inspired the poet Wordsworth, bringing the forgotten past 
to his remembrance, and prompting the utterance of the 
noble thoughts embodied in these lofty lines : 



/ 



Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; 

The soul that rises with us, our life's star, 
Hath had elsewhere its setting, 

And cometh from afar; 
Not in entire forgetfulness, 
And not in utter nakedness, 
But trailing clouds of glory do we come 
From God who is our home.£ 



Truth and Bigotry. — The big thought was too broad 
for the narrow, rigid orthodoxy of Wordsworth's time, 
which could allow for the pre-existence of the Son of 
God, but not for that of the race in general. "And now, O 
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the 
glory which I had with thee before the world was. ,,/l This 
wonderful prayer from the lips of the Savior was too plain 
to be misunderstood. It was clear that Jesus Christ, "the 
Word" that was "in the beginning with God," and "was 
God," before he "was made flesh," * had lived before this 
life. But man, "mere man," was an earth-worm, made 
out of nothing, and consequently had no pre-existence. 
So Christian orthodoxy maintained; and Wordsworth 



g, Wordsworth's Poems, "Intimations of Immortality," first 
published in 1807. 
h, John 17:5. 
i, lb. 1 :1-14. 



300 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

had to recant or half-way deny that his heaven-inspired 
"intimation" meant as much as his bigoted censors 
seemed to fear. Nevertheless, 

"Got but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like 
A star new-born, that drops into its place, 
And which, once circling in its placid round, 
Not all the tumult of the earth can shake." 

The truth uttered by the great "poet of nature" touch- 
ing the previous life, was probably accepted by thou- 
sands of advanced thinkers; and their acceptance helped 
to prepare the way for a more positive and more complete 
presentation of the great doctrine of man's pre-existence. 
In this connection the subjoined verses from the pen 
of a "Mormon" poet, tell their own eloquent story : 

my Father, thou that dwellest 
In the high and glorious place ! 

When shall I regain thy presence, 

And again behold thy face? 
In thy holy habitation 

Did my spirit once reside ; 
In my first primeval childhood 

Was I nurtured near thy side. 

For a wise and glorious purpose 

Thou hast placed me here on earth, 
And withheld the recollection 

Of my former friends and birth. 
Yet, ofttimes a secret something • 

Whispered, "You're a stranger here/' 
And I felt that I had wandered 

From a more exalted sphere. 

1 had learned to call thee Father, 
Through thy Spirit from on high ; 

But until the Key of Knowledge 
Was restored, I knew not why. 



SPIRIT PROMPTINGS 301 

In the heavens are parents single? 

No, the thought makes reason stare! 
Truth is reason — truth eternal 

Tells me I've a Mother there. 

When I leave this frail existence, 

When I lay this mortal by, 
Father, Mother, may I meet you 

In your royal courts on high? 
Then, at length, when I've completed 

All you sent me forth to do, 
With your mutual approbation 

Let me come and dwell with you./ 

How wonderfully clear and comprehensive ! — past, 
present and future circumscribed in brief compass, the 
mystery of the former life unfolded, the meaning of all 
existence made plain. 

Maeterlinck and "The Bluebird." — Maeterlinck, the 
Belgian poet, author of "The Bluebird," in that section 
of his dramatic masterpiece entitled "The Kingdom of 
the Future," deals with the pre-mortal life, and with the 
spirits of little children waiting to be brought down 
to earth to be born here. Old Father Time is there with 
his barge, gathering in the tiny passengers, holding back 
some whose turn is not yet, and permitting others whose 
birth-hour is about to strike. The barge being filled, he 
sails away, and mingling with the sweet strains of chil- 
dren's voices, hailing the distant planet that is to be 
their new abode, rises from below the song of the mothers 
coming out to meet them. When the poet's inspired 
mind conceived this beautiful creation, had he heard of 
Eliza R. Snow and her invocation to the Eternal Father 
and Mother? 



/, Eliza R. Snow's "Invocation," L. D. S. Hymn Book. 



302 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

The Same Note. — I do not impute plagiarism in such 
cases. There is no monopoly of Truth. It reveals itself 
to whomsoever it will, and sometimes it tells to several 
persons, at different times and places, the same thing. 
Suffice it, that Eliza R. Snow, when she sang of the 
"first primeval childhood," sounded the identical note 
subsequently struck by Maurice Maeterlinck, when por- 
traying so tenderly and so tellingly the heavenly origin 
and earthly advent of the spirits that tabernacle in mor- 
tality. 

Fame's Partiality. — Inspiration was kind to both 
poets, but fame has been somewhat partial. Some day, 
when bigotry is dead and prejudice no longer has power 
to blind men's eyes to the truth and pervert their judg- 
ment, the just claims of all inspired teachers will be 
recognized, if not recompensed. Meanwhile the world 
will go on glorifying one and crying down another, as it 
always has done. It will continue "tossing high its ready 
cap" in honor of Maeterlinck, the Belgian poet, for the 
beautiful truths set forth in his sublime symbolic drama ; 
little realizing that the American prophet, Joseph Smith, 
and some who sat at his feet learning wisdom from his 
lips, taught the same and greater truths long before Mae- 
terlinck was born. 

Communications from the Departed. — Many instances 
might be given of the action and influence of "the other 
world" upon this world The experiences of the Latter- 
day Saints alone would fill volumes. I refer particu- 
larly to those connected with the gathering up of gen- 
ealogies for use in temple work, and the work itself done 
vicariously for the benefit of the departed. By dreams 
and visions, by voices and other manifestations, spirits 
"behind the veil" have made known their wishes to sur- 



SPIRIT PROMPTINGS 303 

viving relatives in the flesh, so that their left-over tasks 
might be done for them, the records of their ancestors 
secured, and they in like manner redeemed through 
sacred ordinances performed in their behalf and necessary 
to their progress and happiness in spheres beyond. 



ARTICLE THIRTY-NINE. 
Do the Dead Return? 

Hamlet and the Ghost. — I had always thought it 
strange that a great Christian poet like Shakespeare, after 
portraying, as he does in "Hamlet," an interview between 
the Prince of Denmark and his father's ghost, should re- 
fer to the spirit world as "that undiscovered country from 
whose bourne no traveler returns." Had not the ghost 
returned from that very "country/' for the special pur- 
pose of this interview? 

While deeming it contradictory, my admiration and 
reverence for the immortal bard induced me to mini- 
mize and even excuse the apparent inconsistency. In 
his behalf I argued that it was Hamlet, not Shakespeare, 
who interviewed the Ghost at Castle Elsinore; that it 
was the prince and not the poet who soliloquized rela- 
tive to the non-returning "traveler." I took the ground 
that Shakespeare, in writing the play of "Hamlet," was 
not presenting the author's autobiography, and should 
not, therefore, be held responsible for the idiosyncrasies 
of "the melancholy Dane;" he being mad, and mad peo- 
ple having the right to say what they please, no matter 
how much they contradict themselves or speak and act 
inconsistently. 

A Better Defense. — But all the while there was a bet- 
ter defense for both Shakespeare and Hamlet — if a certain 
hypothesis be well founded, the supporters of which 
would have us believe that the famed soliloquy, "To be 
or not be," wherein the allusion to the spirit "traveler" 
occurs, originally had place nearer the beginning of the 
play and before Hamlet had seen the Ghost. Not Shake- 



DO THE DEAD RETURN f m 

suggestion out fnrtt, k incongruity. Such ,s the 

lowfng i tote true ShaT " m ° re '"^ S3VantS - A1 " 
s lu De true, bnakespeare and th<> ~r;ki~ 

reconciled, and Hamlet is no longer in the atthtTf J" 
Puting the sacred account of the risen d de ° f dlS " 

appearing to his discing 1ft u '° r S P ers onal 

world.* P ' Cr hlS retUrn from *e spirit 

Belasco and "Peter ftri™™ » t-i 
Hamlet and Macbeth he^T' the Creator of 

tifu. use of tSm a par Th " T* *** made P ,en " 
evident from t^works of the ™ If" machinery," is 
his talented discioTe n a A p ? "" dramatis t; and that 
usage is Dlainlv h DavidBeIa sco, likewise favors such 

review the story. ^ Let me bri e% 

Peter Grimm, an honest, elderlv r>„trh a 
carrying on the business of f or st at ^^encan, 
suburb of New York Ch, I Uor "\ at Gn » Manor, a 
sician in Ale^^Sg^ ^ "T " d *-* ** 
Scotchman W» ; V ' ' I " eed not sa y, is a 

in the laws J n l *? * T*"**- ^^ k^" 
tenaciou^ThiroS^ 6 " " 16 " 3 ' ^ ^^ 

he a^d" his'sc'orch^ -IS?* UP °" ^ ™ h ^> - 
thereon. L^c^^^,,^ 3 ™» debate 

effect- Wh- u Ivlc ^ nerson Proposes a compact to this 



«, Luke 24:36-39 
20 



306 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

consents, and with a flash of humor suggestive of his 
name, says: "If I find I am wrong, when I come back 
I will apologize." 

A little later the florist dies suddenly of heart fail- 
ure. He passes into the spirit world, and there obtains 
leave to "revisit the glimpses of the moon," as Hamlet 
puts it; in other words, to return to Grimm Manor and 
rectify a mistake made by him while in the flesh — a 
mistake affecting the happiness of his adopted daugh- 
ter Kathrien, who, yielding to his insistence, has given up 
the. man she loved, and has agreed to marry Grimm's 
nephew, Frederic. This young man is a villain, whose 
unworthiness his uncle discovers after his arrival in "the 
undiscovered country," from which he now proposes to 
"return" and prevent the marriage previously planned. 

The wrong is to be righted by the! delivery of a 
message. But how "get the message across?" That is 
the problem of the play. "Not every one can receive a 
communication from the spirit world." So McPherson 
has said in one of his conversations with Grimm, adding 
that "the receiver must be a sensitive, a medium." 

Strange to say, the old Scotch physician is of no help 
whatever in the predicament now facing his departed 
friend. He knows all about spirits— is saturated with the 
lore of the subject; but he is not a "sensitive," and can- 
not therefore "receive." 

.. j ,:;! The spirit of Grimm, re-entering his old home, makes 
persistent efforts to be seen or heard by some member of 
-the household ; but all in vain. None of his family, none 
of: his friends, can behold him or hear his pathetic plead- 
ings. Yes— there is one who can; a little invalid boy, 
Frederick's illegitimate child, who is wasting away with 
a fever. The veil is thin between him and the spirit land, 
to which he will accompany Peter Grimm, after the lat- 



DO THE DEAD RETURN? 307 

ter's earthly errand is accomplished. This little lad 
is a "sensitive." He sees the spirit, receives the meessage., 
and the threatened misalliance is averted, Kathrien and 
her worthy lover being happily reunited. 

Fiction and Fact. — Such is the story of Peter Grimm 
and his return from the world of spirits. It is pure fic- 
tion, of course; but fiction often supports fact, and is 
even less strange, as a well-worn proverb affirms. Never- 
theless, it will be seen from what follows that I am. not 
in absolute harmony with Belasco's ingenious presenta- 
tion of the spiritualistic theme. My views upon the 
subject are not based upon the theories of men; they are 
founded upon the revelations of God. 

Spirits in Prison. — That the inhabitants of the spirit 
world, or some of them, return at times and communi- 
cate with mortals, I am perfectly well assured. But I am 
not convinced that any and every spirit is at liberty to re- 
turn, whatever the "compacts" that may have been en- 
tered into beforehand. Some spirits are "in prison." 6 
Of what avail would a compact be in their case, unless 
their jailor or some higher power were a party to it? Evi- 
dently the spirits that communicate with mortals are not 
of that class, unless it be in exceptional cases, where 
leave of absence has been granted for some special reason. 

A House of Order. — God's house is a house of order, 
and the spirit world is a room in that house. This being 
the case, it is only reasonable to conclude that before any- 
thing important or unusual can take place there, the 
Master of the Mansion must first give consent. Other- 
wise confusion would prevail, and the divine purpose for 
which the veil was dropped between the two worlds 
might be thwarted. 



b, 1 Peter 3:18-20. 



308 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

Unembodied and Disembodied Spirits. — Spirits are of 
two kinds — the unembodied and the disembodied ; that is 
to say, those who have not tabernacled in the flesh, and 
those who, after taking bodies on earth, have passed 
out of them. It matters not which class is considered; in 
any -case, permission from the Great Father would have 
to be obtained before one of his children, either an un- 
embodied or a disembodied spirit, could make itself mani- 
fest to mortals. 

The Question of Receptivity. — Moreover, as Belasco, 
through Di. McPherson, aims to show, not every mortal 
is qualified to receive a message from "the other side." 
One must be fittingly endowed, must have the proper gift, 
in order to get a communication of that kind/ Earthly ties 
would not necessarily govern. Other and higher 
relationships are involved. There must be capacity 
as well as a desire to receive. Because men like 
Moses and Joseph Smith saw God, is no sign that any 
man can see him. "Choice seers" were they, very dif- 
ferent from ordinary men. All human beings can ob- 
tain blessings from heaven, but not always in the same 
way. There are diversities of gifts and varying degrees 
of receptivity. Wireless telegraphy furnishes a hint 
in this connection. Unless there be a receiving station 
with an apparatus properly attuned, a message launched 
upon the ether would find, like Noah's dove, "no rest 
for the sole of her foot."** 

Future Occupations. — In one of the supposed conver- 
sations between Peter Grimm and Doctor McPherson, 
the subject of future occupations is discussed. The "com- 
pact" having been entered into, the Doctor says : "I would 
like you to find out, if you can, what we do in the other 



c, 1 Cor. 12:4-11. 

d, Gen. 8:9. 



DO THE DEAD RETURN? 309 

world. I would like to know if I have got to go on 
being a bone-setter throughout all eternity." Grimm's 
reply is characteristic : "Well, you would stand a better 
chance for success, having practiced it all your life here, 
than a novice who simply took it up there, wouldn't you?" 
The florist's argument is logical, but like the ques- 
tion that called it forth, somewhat misapplied. "A spirit 
hath not flesh and bones."* Bone-setting, therefore, does 
not belong to the spirit world. Nevertheless, there must 
be occupations in the future life, of which those in the 
present life may be regarded as typical, or in the nature 
of a preparation, leading up to loftier employments. If 
a follower of Joseph Smith were asked : "How do you 
expect to spend eternity?" he would not agree with that 
clergyman who said, in answer to the same question : "I 
expect to spend the first million years gazing upon the 
face of the Savior." The Latter-day Saint would be very 
apt to reply: "I expect to do hereafter what I have 
learned to do here, but with more perfect means and in 
higher and better ways." 

"And every power find sweet employ 
In that eternal world of joy." 

Evil Spirits at Large. — A very important question 
now arises: How may good or bad spirits be known? 
For every spirit is not good, nor is every spiritual mani- 
festation genuine. There are frauds and counterfeits in- 
numerable. Even if real spirits and actual manifestations 
are alone considered, we must still be on our guard 
against deception. There are many evil spirits in this 
wor ld — spirits that have never had bodies. They are 
here by permission or toleration of the Most High, 

e, Luke 24:39. 



310 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

against whom they rebelled when the Savior was chosen. 
Satan and his legions, those cast out of heaven, are all 
wicked spirits, and they wander up and down the world, 
endeavoring- to lead mortals astray. Wherever possible, 
they take possession of the bodies of men and even of the 
lower animals/ Therefore is power given to the Priest- 
hood to "cast out devils."*' Against these fallen spirits, 
mortals must be ever on the defensive, lest their souls be 
ensnared. Temptation, however, is an important factor 
in man's probation; for by resisting it, the soul is de- 
veloped and made stronger. This is probably one rea- 
son why the pernicious activity of such spirits is tolerated. 
Punished in part by being denied bodies, the full pen- 
alty for their misdeeds — the second death— is yet to be 
visited upon them. 

Spiritualism a Reality. — Spiritualism is not altogether 
what some people imagine. Despite the frauds connected 
with it, it is a reality, and was recognized as such long 
before Sir Oliver Lodge and Sir A. Conan Doyle pro- 
claimed their conversion thereto, thus lending to it the 
prestige of their illustrious names. But all realities are 
not righteous. Because there is a devil — an actual de- 
mon and his dupes, is no reason why we should asso- 
ciate with them, confide in them, or accept their evil 
communications. 

How can We Know? — There are bad spirits as well 
as good, and the vital question is : How can we know the 
difference between them? Let us at this stage consult 
an expert — for there are such — one who came in contact 
with spiritual forces to a marvelous extent, not only receiv- 
ing messages from other worlds, but also interviewing 
the messengers. Joseph Smith knew the difference be- 



f, Acts 19:13-16; Mark 5:12, 13. 

g, lb. 16:17; Hist. Ch. Vol. 5, p. 403. 



DO THE DEAD RETURN? 311 

tween good and evil communicants, and here is his testi- 
mony concerning them : 

Expert Testimony. — "When a messenger comes, say- 
ing he has a message from God, offer him your hand, 
and request him to shake hands with you. 

"If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel 
his hand." [An angel is a resurrected being, with a 
body as tangible as man's.] 

"If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he 
will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can 
appear. 

"Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not 
move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for 
a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his mes- 
sage. 

"If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you 
ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and 
you will not feel anything [he also being without a 
body]. You may therefore detect him." /j 

In another place, the Prophet says : "Wicked spirits 
have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are 
governed ; and it is very evident that they possess a 
power that none but those who have the Priesthood 
can control."* To his declaration that "a man is saved 
no faster than he gets knowledge," he adds that if men do 
not get knowledge, including the knowledge of how to 
control evil spirits, the latter will have more power than 
the former, and thus be able to dominate them. This is 
precisely the condition of "the spirits in prison." They 
are dominated by a power which they cannot control. 
They are in Hell, and Satan sways the scepter over his 
own dominion. 



h, D. & C. 129:4-8. 

i, Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, p. 576. 



312 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

Seek Knowledge Aright. — To those in quest of spir- 
itual light, this word of counsel : Seek it only in the 
Lord's appointed way. Follow the advice of the Apostle 
James and the example of Joseph the Prophet.'" Never 
go upon the Devil's ground. Keep away from all de- 
ceptive influence. One may believe in hypnotism, with- 
out being a hypnotist, without surrendering one's will to 
the will of the person exercising that power — a very 
dangerous power when wielded by an unprincipled pos- 
sessor. In like manner, one may believe spiritualism 
real, without becoming a spiritualist, without attending 
"seances," without consulting "mediums," without put- 
ting trust in planchettes, ouija boards, automatic pencils, 
false impersonations, or in any way encouraging the 
advances of designing spirits, who thus gain an ascend- 
ancy over their victims, leading them into mazes of de- 
lusion, and often into depths of despair. Go not after 
them; and if they come to you, put them to the test. 
"Try the spirits."* If they speak not according to re- 
vealed truth, if they conform not to divine standards, "it 
is because there is no light in them." 7 

The Great Return. — Yes, the dead, or the departed, do 
return. They are no more dead than we are. Nay, not 
so much. The Savior's reappearance after death to his 
amazed and incredulous disciples — what was that but a 
return, a real return, from the realm of the departed, 
where, in the interim between his crucifixion and resur- 
rection, he "preached to the spirits in prison ?" Moreover, 
the ascended Lord promised another return, or his angel 
promised it for him, when the "men of Galilee" stood 



/, James 1 :5 ; Hist. Ch. Vol. 1, pp. 4, 5. 
k, 1 John 4:1. 
/, Isa. 8 :20. 



DO THE DEAD RETURN? 313 

"gazing up into heaven," after "a cloud" had "received 
him out of their sight." m That glorious return is nigh. 
All the signs so indicate. May the kingly Traveler from 
heaven to earth meet a royal welcome when he appears ! 

m, Acts 1:9-11. 



ARTICLE FORTY. 
The Goal Eternal. 

Dante and the Divine Comedy. — In the thirteenth 
century a great Italian poet, the immortal Dante, pro- 
duced a wonderful work, "La Divina Comedia" — in English, 
"The Divine Comedy." In one part of the poem the author 
represents himself as passing through Hades. In the 
first circle of the infernal depths, a region called "Limbo" 
— described by a footnote in my copy of the work as a place 
"containing the souls of unbaptized children and of 
those virtuous men and women who lived before the 
birth of our Savior" — he comes upon such characters as 
Homer, Virgil, Plato and others of their class, and the 
spirit guide who is conducting him through "the realms 
of shade," says : 

— Inqu/irest thou not what spirits 
Are these, which thou beholdest? Ere thou pass 
Farther, I would thou know, that these of sin 
Were blameless; and if aught they merited 
It profits not, since baptism was not theirs, 
The portal to thy faith. If they before 
The Gospel lived, they served not God aright; 
And among such am I. 

For these defects 
And for no other evil, we are lost; 
Only so far afflicted, that we live 
Desiring without hope. 

And this was all that thirteenth century theology 
could say for worthies of that stamp — the best and bright- 



a, Hades or Hell, Canto 4, lines 29-39. 



THE GOAL ETERNAL. 315 

est spirits of their times. Blameless, and yet in hell, "de- 
siring without hope," simply because they had lived on 
earth when the Gospel was not on earth, and had not 
been baptized! Whether or not, as some think, it was 
the intent of the poet to covertly satirize such teachings, 
is immaterial at the present time. It is sufficient that he 
had such teachings to satirize. 

Truth's Restoration Imperative. — If any reader of 
mine wishes to know why Joseph Smith and "Mormon- 
ism" came into the world, he need look no further 
to find one of the cardinal reasons. It is furnished in 
those lines from Dante's masterpiece, setting forth the 
orthodox tenet and teaching of the Christian Church re- 
garding the spirits of the good who depart this life with- 
out undergoing the baptismal ordinance. This, and 
that other man-made doctrine, that half the world was 
pre-destined to be saved, and the other half to be damned, 
regardless of any good or evil done by them — little chil- 
dren being included in both classes — were widely 
preached in Christendom at the time of the advent of 
"Mormonism." It was imperative that a prophet should 
arise, that the pure primitive faith should be restored, 
and God's word go forth once more on its mission of 
justice and mercy. 

"According to Their Works." — Whatever Christian 
theology may have taught, or whatever it may teach, in 
support of such doctrines, the fact remains that the 
Gospel of Christ does not, and never did dispose of men's 
precious souls in that unrighteous, unreasonable, un- 
scriptural manner. It does not prejudge, nor save nor 
damn, regardless of men's deserts. Rewarding all ac- 
cording to their works, 6 it gives to every creature, living 

b, Rev. 20:12. 



316 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

or dead, the opportunity to accept or reject it before 
final judgment/ God is not trying to damn the world ; 
he is trying to save it — but not independently of the prin- 
ciples of truth and righteousness. 

A Nautical Illustration, — I was crossing the Atlantic 
on an ocean-liner, and had been fortunate enough to se- 
cure a first-cabin berth, the only one remaining unsold 
when I made my purchase. There were upwards of a 
hundred passengers in that part of the vessel. The second- 
cabin compartment contained perhaps twice as many; 
and in the steerage were several hundred more. 

The first-cabin berths were the best furnished and 
the most favorably situated for comfort, convenience and 
safety. The passengers were shown every courtesy; their 
food was of the choicest; the captain and other officers 
were their associates, and they enjoyed the full freedom 
of the ship. They might go down onto the second-cabin 
deck, or lower down, into the steerage, and return with- 
out hindrance or question. They had paid for these privi- 
leges, and were therefore entitled to them. 

But it was different in the lower compartment. There 
the food was not so good, the berths were less com- 
fortable, and the privileges fewer. The second-class pas- 
sengers could descend into the steerage, but were not per- 
mitted upon the first-cabin deck. 

Conditions in the steerage were even less favorable. 
The food was still poorer, and the restrictions were yet 
more rigid. The occupants of that section were not al- 
lowed even second-class privileges. They had to remain 
right where they were. Having paid only for steerage 
accommodations, these were all that they could consist- 
ently claim. 

c, 1 Peter 4:6. 



THE GOAL ETERNAL. 317 

A Likeness of Human Destiny. — I was struck with 
the analogy existing between the things that I beheld and 
the higher things which they seemed to symbolize. I 
saw another illustration of the proverb, "The earthly typi- 
fies the heavenly," and received fresh confirmation of the 
poetic truth : "All things have their likeness." That 
ocean-going steamer was a likeness of human destiny, 
projecting the eternal future of Adam's race, as made 
known by divine revelation. All souls rewarded accord- 
ing to their works — their varied works — and saved and 
glorified in the "many mansions" of the Father/ 

Celestial Glory— The Church * of the First Born — 
"And this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ con- 
cerning those who come forth in the resurrection of the 
just : 

"They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, 
and believed on his name, and were baptized after the 
manner of his burial ; . . . 

"That by keeping the commandments they might be 
washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the 
Holy Spirit by the laying on the hands of him who is 
ordained and sealed unto this power; 

"And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the 
Holy Spirit of Promisje, which the Father sheds forth 
upon all those who are just and true. . '. . 

"They are they who are the Church of the First-born. 

"They are they into whose hands the Father has given 
all things — 

"They are they who are priests and kings, who have 
received of his fulness and of his glory . . . 

"Wherefore, as it is written, they are Gods, even the 
sons of God — 

d, John 14:2. 



318 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

"Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or 
death, or things present or things to come, all are theirs 
and they are Christ's and Christ is God's. . . . 

"These shall dwell in the presence of God and his 
Christ forever and ever. . . . 

"These are they whom he shall bring with him, when 
he shall come in the clouds of heaven, to reign on the 
earth over his people. 

"These are they who shall have part in the first resur- 
rection. 

"These are they who shall come forth in the resur- 
rection of the just. 

"These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and 
unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the 
holiest of all. 

"These are they who have come to an innumerable com- 
pany of angels, to the general assembly and church of 
Enoch, and of the first-born. 

"These are they whose names are written in heaven, 
where God and Christ are the judge of all. 

"These are they who are just men made perfect 
through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who 
wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding 
of his own blood. 

"These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose 
glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the high- 
est of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is writ- 
ten of as being typical. " e 

In other words — if the maritime metaphor be allowed 
— they were first-cabin passengers over the sea of mortal 
life. They gave to the great Captain the fulness of their 
obedience, and received from him the fulness of recogni- 

e Vision of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, D. & C, 76 :50-70. 
See also 131:1. Compare 1 Cor. 15:40-42. 



THE GOAL ETERNAL. 319 

tion and reward. All privileges, all possessions, are 
theirs. They associate with divine beings, and are them- 
selves divine. 

Terrestrial Glory. — Concerning those who attain to a 
terrestrial sphere, "whose glory differs from that of the 
Church of the First-Born, as the moon differs from the 
sun," the Vision goes on to say : 

"Behold, these are they who died without law. 

"And also they who are the spirits of men kept in 
prison, whom the Son visited and preached the gospel 
unto them, that they might be judged according to men in 
the flesh. 

"Who reoeived not the testimony of Jesus in the 
flesh, but afterwards received it. - 

"These are they who are honorable men of the earth 
who were blinded by the craftiness of men. 

"These are they who receive of his glory, but not of 
his fulness. 

"These are they who receive of the presence of the 
Son, but not of the fulness of the Father; 

"Wherefore they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies 
celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the 
sun. 

"These are they who are not valiant in the testimony 
of Jesus; wherefore they obtain not the crown over the 
kingdom of our God."^ 

Continuing the comparison: These voyagers paid 
only for second-rate privileges. They "drew the line," 
giving a part but not all of their allegiance to Him who 
hath said: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 
The things of this world were more precious in their eyes 
than the riches that perish not and that thieves cannot 



f, D. & C, 76 :72-79. 



320 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

steal. They loved Truth, but not whole-heartedly. They 
loved money and pleasure more, and strove for fame and 
the applause of this world, rather than for the approval of 
heaven. Though clean of conduct and honorable in deal, 
they were not zealous for Christ, and knew not the mean- 
ing of self-sacrifice. These are worthy of the Kingdom, 
but not of the Crown ; and they shine, not like the golden 
sun, but like the silvery moon, with a diminished or sec- 
ondary radiance, with reflected rather than with original 
light. 

Telestial Glory — Servants of the Most High. — As for 
those who inherit telestial conditions, differing from the 
terrestrial as the stars differ from the moon — were they 
not symbolized by the steerage and its occupants? 

"These are they who are thrust down to hell. These 
are they who shall not be redeemed from the Devil, until 
the last resurrection, " at the close of the Millennial reign. 
Criminals of every type and grade, they "suffer the wrath 
of God until the fulness of times, until Christ shall have 
subdued all enemies under his feet and shall have per- 
fected his work." They receive not of "his fulness in the 
eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the minis- 
tration of the terrestrial ; and the terrestrial through the 
ministration of the celestial. And also the telestial re- 
ceive it of the administering of angels who are ap- 
pointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be 
ministering spirits for them, for they shall be heirs of 
salvation. "^ 

The heirs telestial are thosje who "receive, not the Gos- 
pel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, 
neither the everlasting covenant." According to the Vis- 
ion, they "were as innumerable as the stars in the firma- 



g, D. & C, 76:84-88. 



THE GOAL ETERNAL. 321 

ment of heaven, or as the sands upon the seashore." Con- 
cerning this vast multitude, the voice of the Lord was 
heard, saying: 

"These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall 
confess to Him who sits upon the throne forever and ever. 

"For they shall be judged according to their works, 
and every man shall receive according to his own works 
his own dominion in the mansions which are prepared. 

"And they shall be servants of the Most High, but 
where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds 
without end." 71 

The Damned Can Be Saved. — Yes, such is "Mormon- 
ism's" astounding declaration — and not only saved, but 
glorified, if they will repent. The glorified planets are 
God's kingdoms, and "all kingdoms have a law given" — 
celestial, terrestrial or telestial. Whosoever inherits any 
of these kingdoms, must abide the law pertaining to that 
kingdom. If he cannot abide "the Law of Christ," he 
must inherit a glory other than the celestial — even a ter- 
restrial or a telestial glory. If he cannot abide a teles- 
tial law, he is "not meet for a kingdom of glory ;" and if 
he willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, 
then must he "remain filthy still." 1 ' 

Sons of Perdition. — One class alone remains out- 
side salvation's pale, permanently condemned — they 
who commit the unpardonable sin, the sin against 
the Holy Ghost. For them there is no forgiveness. But one 
must receive the Holy Ghost before he can sin against it, 
must have knowledge and power sufficient to /entitle 
him to celestial exaltation ; and then prove ut- 
terly recreant to the great light that has come to him. 



h, D. & C. 76:110-112. 
L lb. 88:21-40. 



322 BEYOND THE HORIZON. 

Such a sin can be committed only by men equipped with 
every qualification for the highest degree of eternal glory. 
It is an offense so heinous that the sinner cannot repent. 
This is what makes his case hopeless; salvation being 
predicated upon repentance. If he could repent, he could 
be forgiven ; but being unable to repent, incapable of ref- 
ormation, he cannot be reached by the pardoning power. 

They who commit the sin unpardonable are as first- 
cabin passengers who, in the full enjoyment of every pri- 
vilege and advantage pertaining to that highly favored 
condition, wilfully throw all away, and recklessly fling 
themselves overboard, to go down in unfathomable 
depths. Sons of Perdition, these — "the only ones on 
whom the second death shall have any power" — "the only 
ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the 
Lord." They "deny the Son, after the Father has re- 
vealed him. Wherefore, he saves all except them."-' 

Desires As Well as Deeds a Basis of Judgment. — But 
the final word was not yet spoken. At a date subsequent 
to that upon which Joseph and Sidney received this won- 
derful manifestation, the heavens were again opened to 
the Prophet, and he beheld the glory — the transcendant 
glory of the Celestial Kingdom, 6 He saw that little chil- 
dren, those "who die before they arrive at the years of ac- 
countability," are saved in that kingdom. He also saw 
his brother Alvin — a good and worthy man, but one who 
had not been baptized, he having died before the Gospel 
came — saw him in celestial glory! Joseph marveled at 
the sight, wondering how Alvin could have risen to so 
exalted a plane. Then came the voice of the Lord to him, 
saying : 



j, D. & C. 76:31-44. 

k, February 16th, 1832, was the date of Joseph and Sidney's 
vision; January 21st, 1836 the date of the other manifestation. 



THE GOAL ETERNAL. 323 

"All who have died without a knowledge of this gos- 
pel, who would have received it if they had been permit- 
ted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of 
God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowl- 
edge of it, who would have received it with all their 
hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom ; for I, the Lord, 
will judge all men according to their works, according to 
the desire of their hearts.* 

Mormonism's Magnanimity. — And yet "Mormonism" 
is said to be narrow, small and illiberal. Narrow, for- 
sooth! Then where will you find breadth? Where find 
justice, mercy, magnanimity, if not in a religion that 
saves the living, redeems the dead, rescues the damned, 
and glorifies all who repent? "Mormonism" a small 
thing? It's the biggest thing in the universe! It is 
the Everlasting Gospel, the mighty soul-ship of the dis- 
pensations, launched in the days of Adam upon the heav- 
ing ocean of the ages, and now on its last voyage over 
the stormy billows of Time to the beaconing coast of 
Eternity. 



/, Hist. Ch. Vol. 2, p. 380. Compare Alma 29:4,5. 

We are not to infer that Alvin Smith or anyone else could 
inherit celestial glory, without receiving the fulness of the Gospel. 
It was a prophetic vision, showing what would be when Alvin had 
done his part, and the part that he could not do had been done 
for him. The same vision showed the parents of the Prophet — 
Joseph and Lucy Smith — in celestial glory; and yet at that time 
they were still alive on earth. 



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